Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin
by Author Name Changed
Summary: Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and well... too many things to put here. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R
1. The Beginning of a Terrible Summer

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize.  
  
Author: zimagesto  
  
Title: Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin  
  
Summary: Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R  
  
Author's Note: This is the sequel to 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch' which was my first novel-sized fiction. Therefore, its beginning has a few problems that were taken care of during time.  
  
It is not necessary to have read the 'Green Flame Torch' to understand what is written here –I'll try to summarize everything-, although it'd help a lot. Trust me.  
  
Also, there are two side-stories: a fic called 'The Four Founders' Hunt' that is in the same universe as these two stories and 'Behind the Veil', a story about Sirius's rescue.  
  
Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Terrible Summer  
  
Harry Potter was enjoying himself by munching on Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans while lying on his bed with a book opened in front of him. The book was quite interesting, he had to admit: it was about Transfigurations in general and it had a lot of interesting spells he just couldn't wait to try out. Unfortunately, there was a whole month to go until his birthday, so no trying until then.  
  
The book had been picked up from a very special room in Hogwarts... Quite the story, actually. At the beginning of the year, a 16 year-old girl from Romania had joined Hogwarts and well... she was weird. Hyper and all that. But really nice. She had joined the trio he, Ron and Hermione had had –after awhile of bugging them and acting like a complete idiot and annoying brat, that is-. In her insanity, she had gone to the Department of Mysteries and went through the veil, returnng with Sirius. Supposedly, she had even met Death.... And she had met Jack Towers, a weird freaky guy who had helped Sirius hide and then he cleared the Animagus' name.  
  
After returning to Hogwarts from that adventure, she had somehow managed to get into a relationship with –ugh- Snape. It also turned out she had psychic powers, so she could feel things around her. In one of her 'feelings', she had somehow opened a secret room in Hogwarts that had two bookshelves with unknown books and ever-roaring fire. That was where the book Harry was reading now came from.  
  
Also, another weird thing that had happened last year was that Draco Malfoy –out of all people!- had joined their group of friends. Which now contained Harry, Ron, Hermione, Amala –that was the name of the Romanian weird girl-, Neville, Ginny, Mark Evans –first year, Harry's cousin on his mother's side, previously unknown-, Jane Chase –first year, the girl turned out to be the heir of a king from an unknown kingdom and she was supposed to lead that kingdom that was somewhere in a different realm, and of course, she hadn't even met her people-, Luna Lovegood and of course, Draco. Who had an excellent mind for plans.  
  
Together, they'd have gotten the Green Flame Torch, Harry becoming its bearer and getting a lot of power because of that. And there had been an attack on Hogwarts he'd repelled with it, after which attack a human goddess or something of the sort had appeared and she had stayed at the castle for awhile.  
  
And, thinking about weird things, the man whom Amala had encountered when saving Sirius had started teaching at Hogwarts when their new Defence Professor –Iris Rose- had to leave for awhile and then he'd had to run away when the Ministry thought he was on the wrong side. He had also pulled quite a show of it, proving that he had Animagus powers and becoming a dragon, flying away. Then, they had wondered whether the weird man that always talked about his Master was on their side or not... And he had proved to be on their side at the end of the year when he had given his life to save the ten of the group from Voldemort's clutches.  
  
After that, they had found out he wasn't even human, that he had been a being that wasn't even supposed to be born. He was a weird sort of being they knew nearly nothing about.  
  
Basically, their sixth year had been a complete chaos, even in dating. Hermione and Ron, Amala and Snape, Ginny and Draco –Ron wasn't really happy- ... Needless to say anything else, no? But there was another pair that Harry was shocked to find out about: Sirius –who had come back from the dead, as previously stated- and their new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor: Iris Rose.  
  
And adding to the chaos had been quite a lot of things, like the attack on Azkaban on Christmas or the Ball where Harry had went with Luna or the lessons with Towers or the 'journey' to get the Green Flame Torch or Severus 'admitting' in public that he dated Amala... All types of things.  
  
There was a soft knock on the window, making Harry get up from the bed, let his bag of Beans and the Transfiguration book down and open the window for a brown owl that was flying outside with a letter to enter.  
  
"Hello there" he said slowly to the brown bird which hooted in reply. "What do you have there?"  
  
He took the letter from it and sat on the bed, the owl flying down next to him, obviously waiting for a reply. Harry frowned to himself and opened the letter, two pieces of paper falling out of it, one written in black ink and the other a page from the Daily Prophet.  
  
"Harry,  
  
Attached, there is a page of the Daily Prophet this morning. It's really, really, terrible. I can't believe it... Poor Jane...  
  
Dumbledore said you should spend the rest of the summer with Sirius...  
  
Answer back,  
  
Hermione"  
  
Harry had a sense of panic as he took the page of the paper and saw a picture of Jane in front of a house. She was shaking and crying terrified and Harry could feel a lump in his throat as he saw her like that. His eyes fell over the words written beneath it and he could see the reason for the girl to be like that.  
  
"Yesterday night, twelve year-old Jane Chase left home to spend the night with a friend. She was the lucky one of the Chase-Monroes...  
  
When she made it to the house next morning, she could see a crowd gathered in front of her home and the Dark Mark hovering above the house. Scared but brave, she was the first one to enter the place and she found both her parents dead in their bedroom, signs of struggle all over the place.  
  
The young Chase quickly alerted the Aurors and soon the Muggles in the area were obliviated. There is no obvious reason for the attack on her parents, Jane Chase said. "It should have been me!" she said to our correspondents between tears. "I was the one who dared face the Death Eaters barely two weeks ago! Not them! They had nothing to do with that and anyway, my father was a cauldron-maker, my mother was a healer..."  
  
We think that the Death Eaters might have attacked the Chase-Monroes to hurt young Jane Chase. The girl has proven courage and strength beyond anything we would have expected. She will be helped by some of her friends, she has not given us any names. The rest of the group of students who were captured by You-Know-Who will also go into hiding, along with their families.  
  
And so, we all wonder what this war will be getting to and how far You-Know- Who will go..."  
  
Harry didn't read the rest of the story. He looked at the Jane Chase in the picture that looked up at him and waved sadly. He felt tears building up in his eyes and he picked up a quill and some parchment and replied to Hermione or whomever that he was ok with going to Sirius...  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-  
  
"So, basically" Harry said, slowly "I should be going"  
  
Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Stupid Dudley stared at him wide-eyed as he finished his story.  
  
"You mean to say, boy, that her parents got killed and you want us to get killed when you leave?" Uncle Vernon asked, his moustache moving threateningly.  
  
"Not even Voldemort thinks I love you a lot, so he won't kill you" Harry replied with a sigh and watched their outraged faces. "But I should be going. They'll be picking me up at seven o'clock."  
  
"It's half past six now. How are they arriving?" Aunt Petunia asked with a glare.  
  
"I have no clue" Harry replied a bit pissed. He wondered when he would meet Jane... and what he would say.  
  
The next half an hour was one of the worst he ever had. He had packed his trunk awhile ago and he was wondering what would happen next. What he would say to Jane. What he would say to the others... He remembered the Chase- Monroes from the train station, barely a week ago. She had seemed like a very nice woman, not the very smart type, but the very kind one. And he was the short and plump type, wearing a pair of eyeglasses, looking like a beaver or something of the sort. He hadn't even paid too much attention to them... Nearly none at all.  
  
What would he do when he saw Jane? What would he say? And she was probably in tears...  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-  
  
Two people appeared suddenly in the middle of the living room, making Harry's aunt and uncle jump up in surprise and Dudley crash from the chair he sat on.  
  
"Hello" one of them, a grey haired, poor looking man said.  
  
"Hello" the second one, richer looking, who had long black hair tied up in a ponytail said. "Ready Harry?"  
  
Harry stared at them for a second before replying:  
  
"Hi, Sirius, Remus. Yes, sure I'm ready. Portkey, huh?"  
  
"Yeah" they both nodded, Sirius looking a bit worried and Remus looking a bit more worried.  
  
They picked up his trunk and the Dursleys couldn't even make too many comments as they all touched the same boot that Sirius was holding and disappeared from sight.  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-  
  
AN: Not the best chapter I ever wrote, but I'm just getting into hand. The next one will be better.  
  
I'd like to thank everybody who reviewed 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch'. And everybody who will read 'Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin' 


	2. Orphans and Promises

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize.  
  
Author: zimagesto  
  
Title: Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin  
  
Summary: Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R  
  
Author's Note: My second chapter and I'm feeling... Weird. I sometimes get the feeling I should be up at chapter 10 or 20 already...  
  
Chapter 2: Orphans and Promises  
  
Harry nearly fell on the floor as they landed in the kitchen at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Luckily, Sirius grabbed his arm and stabilized him.  
  
"How do you do that?" Harry asked, frowning. "Keeping balance, I mean"  
  
"You get used to it" his godfather replied with a hint of a smile. "Come on. Jane's already here, she's in one of the dormitories with Hermione. The whole place s getting really crowded if nothing happens soon, we'll have to conjure up sleeping bags and turn the whole house into a dormitory."  
  
Harry nodded a little as the two elder men led him out the door of the now empty kitchen. Sirius was the first in the small procession and he quickly led them to one of the bedrooms on the first floor.  
  
He cautiously knocked and then opened the door, pushing Harry gently inside. There, on the double bed, Jane was lying down, Hermione sitting next to her. They both looked at him sadly as he entered the dark room and walked over to the bed. He noted somewhere in the back of his mind that Sirius and Remus hadn't entered the room, but he didn't really care.  
  
"Hey" he said slowly. "Jane, I'm really sorry for your parents..."  
  
"Don't worry" she said with a small shake of her head. "I'm... I'm trying to get over it. It's not easy, but I'll manage"  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows in a small question, wondering if she was indeed brave or a heartless person who didn't care too much about her parents. She seemed to be relatively not shaken, thinking that she had seen her parents' dead bodies only that morning.  
  
"It feels like a dream... A nightmare" Jane said slowly. "I can't... I really can't believe they're gone. It's as if I'm trapped in one of those horrible nightmares I sometimes have. Just that this one... it won't end"  
  
"It'll end" Hermione said slowly, soothingly. "Don't worry"  
  
"But I can't believe it. It can't be true!" Jane said, tears in her eyes. "It just can't be"  
  
Harry realized then why she had been so brave... Why there weren't too many tears: she was in denial.  
  
"But it is true" Harry whispered. "It is, I am afraid. It's not a nightmare... It's real life"  
  
Jane looked at him with her brown pained eyes and he could suddenly see something in them that he had not seen before: maturity. And also... Was that nobleness? Pained nobleness...  
  
"Harry!" Hermione glared at him.  
  
"She must understand it's real" Harry said, turning to his friend. "She can't keep saying it's not real... Saying so will not make it go away."  
  
"But still..." Hermione started saying and Harry knew exactly what she meant: she should be given some time... Not be woken up quickly.  
  
"Harry's right, though" Jane said, surprising them both. "Denying it won't make it go away... It just doesn't feel real. It's a nightmare... I just entered the house and went to their bedroom... They were lying on the floor, their eyes closed. The furniture looked as if it had been hit and thrown all around the place. It was like... like one of those horror movies."  
  
Harry sat down next to her and looked in her deep brown eyes.  
  
"They did die. But think about it this way: it's a passing to a new world. Your parents are fine... They're just not here"  
  
Jane looked at him and smiled sadly.  
  
"You got that from Towers' funeral" she said. "But he was a Navrad. Navrads don't really die, you know that by now."  
  
"Nevertheless, I think it was a good description of death" Harry replied slowly. "You'll be ok. They already are"  
  
He raised his eyes and met Hermione's. She was looking at him as if she had just realized something weird.  
  
"Since when do you speak like that?" she asked slowly. "Last year, you weren't able to sooth anybody and now..."  
  
"I guess it happened when they attacked Hogwarts" Harry replied with a shrug. "Then... when I used the Torch. It's the same feeling now that I got then. Do you know what I mean?"  
  
"No" Hermione replied truthfully. "But I don't think I would anyway, so don't try to explain it. I think it's more about the feeling"  
  
"Hey, you did understand" Harry said with a small smile, then turning to Jane. "Listen... I'm not sure what to do now... But want to go downstairs and drink something? Like a cocoa?"  
  
"Harry!" Hermione said, returning to her you-are-so-insensitive glare.  
  
"Sure" Jane replied, to her surprise, and got up from the bed. "You know what I wish?"  
  
"That this all didn't happen" Harry replied and smiled sadly at her surprise. "Yeah, it's understandable"  
  
They all got up and went downstairs in the kitchen where Sirius and Remus were. The two of them looked at the three surprised, but said nothing as they sat down.  
  
"Um... Mr. Black, sir?" Jane said, unsure.  
  
"Sirius" the elder man said.  
  
"Right. Sirius" she said slowly. "Could you please give me a cup of cocoa?"  
  
"Sure" he replied and got up to prepare it.  
  
The four people who were sat at the table stood in silence for a few seconds before Remus seemed to gather his courage and say something.  
  
"How are you, Jane?" he asked kindly.  
  
"I'm starting to realize it actually did happen" she replied. "It's not a pleasant feeling, though"  
  
Remus smiled at her encouragingly as Sirius gave her the cup of hot cocoa.  
  
"Don't worry, it's not that bad being dead" the long-haired man said. "It's a bit pissing off that you can't talk to the ones still alive, but other than that, it's fine. Even the place I was in was alright. Yeah, the scenery sucked, but the company was sometimes interesting. Not counting the weird Guardian of Death that was always grouchy, that is"  
  
Jane's eyes opened wide as she realized hat Sirius was saying.  
  
"Oh my God, you were dead" she said, nearly choking on her cocoa. "I forgot completely"  
  
Sirius started laughing.  
  
"Yeah, I was dead. But then, Amala Wright comes to the rescue and gets me out of there. Anyway, in the months before, I had the chance to talk to Mark Strois, you all know about him by now, I suppose"  
  
"Who doesn't?!" Hermione and Harry said at the same time. "But I didn't know you ever met him" Harry added.  
  
"He was sometimes around there. He told some of us that the place we were in wasn't really the place where all souls go after death. In fact, he said that we were 'quite in the wrong place' to quote him. He said that it was only a passing place and that there were realms and realms where we could stay after we left that place. And of course we wondered how we would leave. Some of us did do it, too, nobody knows how. Trust me, your parents aren't all that bad"  
  
Everybody was watching him wide-eyed as he said that.  
  
"You know, I never really thought of what happened to you in those months" Harry admitted.  
  
"Yeah, well, not much did happen, so there was nothing to really talk about. Let's just say that Mark referred to those realms as 'usually very nice'. Don't worry about your parents, kid, they're probably in one of the nicest realms they could get into"  
  
Jane smiled at him and sipped her cocoa.  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-  
  
"Don't you find it really, really odd that everybody keeps saying death is just a new life and believing it?" Hermione asked Harry when they were alone in the room.  
  
"Actually, yes, I do" Harry replied, after thinking about it for a moment. "I can't think of any other time this happened..."  
  
"And you too... the way you spoke, there was something behind those words that spoke of wisdom, Harry" Hermione said. "What happened? At the attack on Hogwarts, I mean?"  
  
Harry collapsed on the bed.  
  
"I can't remember" he replied. "It was something nice, but I don't remember what. I met someone... or something" he said thoughtfully. "I don't know what it was. I just know that from then on, I wasn't really afraid of death, you know"  
  
Hermione looked at him thoughtfully and sat down on the bed next to him.  
  
"I wish you'd remember" she said slowly.  
  
"I wish I did, too" Harry replied and smiled a bit at her.  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-  
  
It was night, right after dinner and everybody was in the kitchen for a weird Order meeting. Actually, it couldn't really be called that, since not so many people from the Order were there. Harry looked around the kitchen and saw Hermione and the Grangers, none of them looking too pleased; Jane Chase, sitting next to them, tears in her eyes; Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley and the whole Weasley family, wearing the same type of brave, but afraid expressions; Luna Lovegood and her father, both looking crazy, but sad; Amala Wright, alone and retreated in one corner of the room; Neville Longbottom, looking brave, and his grandmother, looking scared and stern; Draco Malfoy... alone and looking as if he hadn't slept in three weeks; Mark Evans and his parents... Harry's before unrevealed family; Dumbledore, looking sadly at all of them; Severus Snape, standing tall and proud, cold as ever; Remus Lupin, looking as if he were about to turn into a wolf any moment; Sirius, concerned and afraid; Nymphadora Tonks, sitting at the table, her head in her hands; Minerva McGonagall, sad, but stern; Mundungus Fletcher, for the first time attentive at what was happening; Iris Rose, looking like frightened, but pure and powerful antelope in her white dress; Filius Flitwick, sitting on the tallest chair there was in the place.  
  
"Today" Dumbledore started. "Today, a terrible thing has happened. The Chase-Monroe family was attacked, as we have all found out. None of the rescue mission from two weeks ago or their families is safe. All of them must go to hiding. Let us start with calling everybody, to see if they are all here"  
  
"Everybody who is supposed to be here is here" Amala spoke up from her corner. "I can see it. Everybody... but my parents"  
  
"Are you sure, Mrs. Wright?" Snape asked and Harry frowned. Wasn't the man aware that everybody around knew of him and Amala? Or was it just a reflex...? To call her by her last name in public?  
  
"Positive" she replied. "Everybody who is supposed to be here is here"  
  
"What about your parents?" Snape asked.  
  
"They had work to get done. Besides, they are safe from such harm" Amala said slowly. "They are now in a place I know nothing about and neither does anybody else. They retreated there to study a weird type of dragon that lives in underground caves. I believe they captured one and put it in a special cave where they can study it."  
  
"What if the Dark Lord finds them?" Snape asked.  
  
"Does the Dark Lord know that I am Romanian? Does the Dark Lord know of where the cave is? It might be in China or in Mongolia, as far as I know. They have made themselves untraceable, the place is unplottable. It is an unrevealed location to anybody, he'd have to search underground on the whole planet to get them! He has better things to do" Amala said in a matter-of-fact voice.  
  
"Are you sure they are safe, Mrs. Wright?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yes, sir. Perhaps safer than any of us" she replied.  
  
"Let's hope it is so" McGonagall said slowly.  
  
"To our next problem" Dumbledore said. "Where will all of you live?"  
  
"They could stay here, but there isn't much room" Sirius said. "I guess this place could house about... fifteen people if necessary, but not more. And even then, we'd be deadly crowded."  
  
"How many are we?" Harry asked and everybody turned to look at him –which was quite unpleasant.  
  
"Twenty" Sirius replied thoughtfully. "Snape should stay here, too. We're gonna be like sardines."  
  
Harry looked around the kitchen and saw the not-very-pleased faces. His eyes fell upon Severus Snape, though, as he seemed to be really, really sick.  
  
"I'll bloody lend you a hand" he growled. "I have a manor, for God's sake. I could take in everybody. And by the way, Black, I need no help from you"  
  
Everybody stared at the glaring man. He was actually offering his help to welcome in his house a lot of people. He hated everybody! And besides, he had troubles with Voldemort himself, surely he didn't think his manor was safe?! Dumbledore seemed to bet thinking along the same lines as he said:  
  
"Thank you for your offer, my boy. But you know that Voldemort" half the room cringed "will be hunting you in that manor? It is not safe"  
  
"It is safer than Hogwarts" Snape said with a smirk. "Not even the Dark Lord can get there and he can try all he wants."  
  
Most of the people in the room started talking to each other, saying things like "safer than Hogwarts?!" and "Snape manor?!"  
  
"Are you sure, Severus?" asked Dumbledore disbelievingly.  
  
"Quite sure, Albus. Quite sure" the dark wizard replied mysteriously.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Sirius asked with a great hint of hate. "Is there something you wish to gain from this? What is it?"  
  
"I made a promise once and I will respect it. Respecting it means I had to offer myself for this" Snape replied with a smirk. "And, before you ask, Black, yes, I am a man of honor."  
  
The tension was starting to grow in the kitchen as most people looked concernedly at Snape. They seemed to be as thrilled as Sirius to hear that proposition. And the two men in question were ready to jump at each others' throats. Then, of course, Albus Dumbledore decided he should jump in the conversation.  
  
"Well, then, it's settled!" he said quickly. "Who stays with Severus?"  
  
Everybody gaped at him as he obliviously asked that small question.  
  
"Not me" Ron said, shaking his head.  
  
"Why should I stay with him?" Amala asked, making everybody but Snape, Dumbledore and Iris Rose gap at her in surprise. "I don't like staying around teachers a lot, it makes me feel weird"  
  
"I'll stay with him" Jane Chase said slowly with a small shrug. "What've I got to lose?"  
  
"I-I'll stay there" Neville said and this time there were actual gasps of surprise through the room. Even Snape seemed thrown off. However, the reason made them all understand. "I heard you have huge gardens with many rare plants, is it so, Professor?"  
  
Snape blinked a few times, probably wondering if he had heard right.  
  
"Yes, it is so" he replied slowly.  
  
"I'll stay there" Hermione said and looked purposefully at Ron. "I bet he has an extremely large library. Don't you, Professor?"  
  
"I do... But since when do you all live under the impression that you can go through my personal things?" Snape asked, frowning.  
  
"Ah, well..." Hermione said, confused. "Well, I..."  
  
"Fine, you may use it" Snape said with a glare. "Anybody else up for devastating my property?"  
  
"I am!" Ginny said with a mischievous smile. "Since you put it that way..."  
  
In only a few words... Snape couldn't have looked more... "thrilled" if he wanted to.  
  
"Fine, I'll be going, too" Ron said under his breath. "Hell with everything."  
  
"Wonderful. Potter, you're joining them" Snape said with a smirk.  
  
"Now, wait a minute, Snape!" Sirius snapped. "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"My place is safer than yours" Snape replied. "Besides, his buddies will be there and therefore it'll spare us a lot of inter-house traveling if we put them all in the same house. Manor, in my case. Got it, Black?"  
  
Amala let out a short, pained laugh.  
  
"He's right, you know."  
  
"I'm staying there, too" Draco suddenly decided. "Somebody has to watch out so that Professor Snape doesn't kill Harry"  
  
"Everybody for Snape manor?" Luna asked. "Well, then, I'll be staying there, too"  
  
"Oh, goody" Snape muttered and shot one look towards Amala. She replied with a dead-sad look. "Well, then, anybody else want to join?"  
  
There were general replies of 'no' from the others and soon they all had their trunks and luggage ready in the kitchen. Harry shot Sirius a sorry look.  
  
"See you later guys!" Amala said, moving through them, hugging them all –all except Snape, Harry noticed. What had happened? Had they had a fight? Broken up?  
  
"Very well, if everybody's ready..." Snape said before he turned to Sirius. "You may visit whenever you want. You and the other canine and just about anybody here"  
  
Then, he took out of his pocket a small rag he touched with his wand, muttering 'portus'. He then looked at the eight people who would live in his house, probably until the end of summer and frowned.  
  
"Grab this rag, it's a portkey" he said bored. "Today!"  
  
They all complied and somehow, Neville ended up staying right next to Snape and he gulped and smiled a smile that said he'd faint soon. Snape just glared in reply. Soon, they could all feel a hook behind their navels and...  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-  
  
Harry had never imagined that Snape's house looked like that. In fact, he hadn't imagined so much style... He hadn't imagined style at all. But the place they had landed in was wonderful.  
  
After managing to regain their balance, they all stared at the entrance hall they were in. No, the main color wasn't black. Nor was it green, or even silver. It was white. White and cream. A huge room with a few shoe shelves and hangers and even a few chairs.  
  
"Welcome to Snape manor" Snape said as unpleasantly as possible. "Leave your trunks here. There are three house elves taking care of my estate, don't interrupt their work please. If you get lost, there is nothing I can do for you and you're on your own, but you can use the labyrinth trick and walk next to a wall. It is possible you might make it to an area from where you can get back to wherever you want to get. If you don't, switch the wall"  
  
They all watched him wide-eyed as he said that in a perfectly calm voice, as if it was absolutely normal for people to get lost in his house for days in a row.  
  
"Also, I'd like to say that as long as you are within the estate's walls, you are perfectly safe. There are two main gates from the estate, it is impossible to pass through them unknowingly and it is impossible to pass through the other gates without knowing how to do so, never mind without noticing. In other words: if you get out of the estate, I am not in any way responsible for your death. As to satisfy the usual curiosity you have: one of the gates leads to the Forest of Wolves –which eventually leads into the Forbidden Forest, yes we're in Scotland- and the second gate leads to a road. Three miles from here there is a very small village. You do not want to know what is in it."  
  
Snape took a deep breath and the eight students looked at him wide-eyed. That made him smirk as he added in a more human and less recorded tape voice:  
  
"Now, although I can see you have been dumbstruck that I have a very... nice place for a home, I will lead you to the wing of the house where you will stay. Try to remember the path downstairs, we wouldn't want you to end up in the dungeons, now would we?"  
  
He then smirked to them and turned around in a quick, elegant, feline-ish way and walked quickly, in bat-mode to the doors. The students started nearly running after him –damned be his long legs!-. When he made it to the large, wood doors, they opened at their own accord, quickly enough for Snape not to flatten himself against the hard wood.  
  
And then, there it was: a huge place –the first one was seemingly just the small part for guests to take clothes off that some castles and manors have. But this one... This one was really large and it still had the white-cream-brown colors. Double stairs began in the middle of the room, one going right and one going left to the first story, making two wonderful curves. Anyway, the two parts of the house were linked together, but it all looked wonderful. They could also see two corridors on the ground floor, right beneath the two corridors on the first floor.  
  
Paintings were looking at them from the walls everywhere and a huge brownish marble animated wolf statue that was between the two stairs coked its head to the side to stare at them. A house-elf squeaked and gave a short "master has returned!" as he saw Snape.  
  
The party entered the room, stepping on the fluffy Persian brown carpet that was on the floor. The whole place was so... warm. Harry could see some plants –by that understanding young trees and some exotic-looking bushes- in different parts of the room, a pool table on the left and a normal table with a couch and three armchairs on the right. It looked really spacious, but it would have looked downright empty if the colors hadn't been so warm.  
  
"Hello, master, anything I could serve you or your guests with?" the house elf asked and ran to Snape, kissing his hand and making Ron want to puke.  
  
"No, thank you, Krowcher, we are quite alright" Snape replied and Harry frowned. Krowcer? A house elf called Krowcher?! Oh, well, this was Snape they were talking about.  
  
The house elf was taller than Dobby or Winky, Harry could see. He had a black something he was wearing and had a long pointy nose and two pointy ears sticking up like wolf's ears. He was the sneakiest, most human-looking elf Harry had ever seen.  
  
The house elf bowed his head again and left the room through the corridor on the left. Snape smirked and started walking again towards the stairs on the right when the wolf sculpture decided to jump off its pedestal.  
  
"Severus, what's with all the teens?" he asked pleasantly.  
  
"I'm housing them for awhile" Snape replied in a way that made the others wonder if that was the Severus Snape, master of all glares and snaps. He had said it as if the wolf had been a friend or maybe even brother.  
  
"Great! Company!" the wolf said and walked next to them. "Shrink me! I'm the size of an elephant!"  
  
Snape smiled amusedly.  
  
"Not denying that. Plus, you're destroying my floor with the jumping around. I'll place a feather-light charm on you."  
  
"Wait a second?" the wolf asked, outraged. "Your floor? May I remind you, I've bee here for three hundred years!"  
  
"I know" Snape replied with a wicked smile. "But you're a sculpture, I'm a Snape"  
  
The wolf growled lowly at that and the eight stared at the two residents of the Snape manor. Surprisingly, they seemed to be friends. And surprisingly, the wolf seemed to be quite young at heart and pleasant to be with.  
  
"Shrink me, you bat, bat man!" he growled playfully. "Or I'll step on you and squash you"  
  
Well, he was three meters tall, so that might have worked. Harry suddenly found himself willing to witness such a thing and grinning at the show.  
  
"Bat, bat man?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow. "I might send you outside in the rain if you say that again"  
  
"Gods, Severus, it's sun and it's nearly a drought. It hasn't rained in two weeks!" the wolf said, looking at the other man with sparkling eyes. "Check out the weather!"  
  
Snape let out a snort of laughter –and that surprised everybody, including the wolf-. He then shrunk the wolf to 'only' one meter tall –add twenty centimeters for the head-.  
  
"That alright?" Snape asked.  
  
"'tis ok, but really, I'm not the size of a real wolf, they're shorter, ya know!" the wolf said and grinned a wolfish grin.  
  
Then, to everybody's surprise, he stepped in the middle of the group and said happily:  
  
"So, I'm Colt, who're you?"  
  
They were all a bit shocked, but Jane said slowly:  
  
"Jane Chase"  
  
"Chase?! You one of the famous Chases that are always running around for one thing or another?" Colt asked.  
  
"Yep" she replied with a small smile.  
  
"Cool" Colt said with a grin. "Well come on, Severus, wouldn't like to keep our guests standing, huh? Let's give 'em a nice dinner, perhaps some tea or whatever?"  
  
"We already had dinner" Jane said, smiling at the wolf. "But thanks anyway"  
  
"The bedrooms are this way" Snape said, pointing towards the stairs and they all had to rush quickly after him. "Five bedrooms are enough, I believe. If they aren't, sleep in the kitchen"  
  
The eight children looked at each other inquiringly and Colt let out a snort of laughter and a sarcastic "aren't we a good host". They passed a few paintings and three or four doors –which made Harry wonder just how large the manor really was-. But soon enough, Snape came to a halt and pointed to the corridor in front of him.  
  
"There are three bedrooms on the right and two on the left. The first four doors are two large bathrooms and two day rooms. One has a piano. Do not and I repeat, do not play it in the middle of the night unless you're really skilled with it. I bid you all goodnight. My three elves will bring you your trunks. Their names are Krowcher, Inkle and Spot, in case you were wondering."  
  
"Krowcher, Inkle and Spot?!" mouthed Harry and Ron at each other and Colt saw them and grinned.  
  
"I bid you all goodnight" Snape said and they all stared after him as he went off at full speed in bat-mode.  
  
"One day" said Colt and all eyes turned to him "one day he'll win the gold metal for fastest bat alive, don't you think?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. "Say, neither of you look sleepy. Care for a chit chat in one of the 'day rooms', although it's night?"  
  
"Sure" Jane replied and the others hurried up to agree with her. Colt grinned again and led them to the second room on the left. It was dark when they entered, but soon the lights popped on out of nowhere and they could indeed see a piano, a few armchairs, a few chairs a table and two couches as well as a small bookshelf and plants. It was nice and cozy and they sat down on the couches or on the armchairs.  
  
"So, how come you and Snape are... friends?" Jane asked the wolf.  
  
"Ah, long story, kiddo" Colt replied.  
  
"We've got all night" Hermione said and Ginny nodded furiously.  
  
"Ah, ya know, when young Severus Snape lived here with his parents" Colt started "the house wasn't so big. Actually, this whole place started as a small house of the Snapes and it kept growing with each generation. Every one of the Snapes wanted a bit of him or herself added to the house and Severus added more than any other. Too bad there're no Snapes left, but who knows"  
  
"Who on Earth would want to have children with Snape?!" Draco asked, making a face.  
  
"Well, Mortimer Snape, Severus's father, asked the same thing about Lucius Malfoy and apparently, the 'child' is right in front of me" Colt replied with a smirk. "Believe it or not, it didn't seem likely for ol' Lucius to get to convince a woman to have children with him Apparently, our guesses were wrong. There was a woman and she full-heartedly agreed"  
  
"Our guesses?" Hermione asked before Draco could make any nasty comments.  
  
"Yeah, mine and Severus's" Colt replied with another of his wolfish grins. "Which brings me back to the point. So, Mortimer Snape was a real pain in the you-know-what. His wife was worse than him, her name was Rosalina. God save you from horrible creatures like her. Anyways, when Severus was young, he was quite sensible of all the things that happened to him... his parents were fighting viciously, they hated him... It was hell on earth for Severus"  
  
"He'd kill you if he knew you told us this" Jane whispered.  
  
"Yeah, he probably would" Colt agreed after a second of thinking. "But never mind. So, he had to find a friend to confess to... A friend who didn't tell him, like Lucius Malfoy, to get a grip on himself and learn to be a cold-hearted bastard. So, in one of his searches, he somehow ended up between my front paws. I was only half-animated then, so I didn't really talk like I do now. I just stared at him, at the seven-year old fledging in front of my eyes. The talk we had then I will never forget. The way he said he didn't care if I was a statue. The way he told me about everything on his heart. I somehow managed to soothe him then. I listened. I knew the outer part of things because I was in a good position to hear or even see the Snapes fighting and bickering. But what was happening in the heart of their fledgling... I hadn't ever known"  
  
Colt made a small pause and sighed before he started talking again, slowly.  
  
"He liked me. I replied warmly to everything he said. He started coming to me more and more often. He hid behind me when his parents were looking for him. He started to think of me as the great friend he needed. I liked him. In three hundred years not many had tried to talk to me. Kylie Snape was the first, but that was two hundred and fifty years ago. Then, there was Ronald Snape, one hundred seventy five years ago, when he became an old man. After that, Amelia Snape, a hundred years ago, but she died in an accident before I got to know her too well. And Severus's grandfather, James Snape, he talked to me in his youth, too"  
  
"James Snape?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah" Colt replied. "You're Harry Potter, son of James Potter, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes, I am" the teen nodded.  
  
"Thought so" Colt replied. "I saw him in pictures a few times. You look like him. Anyways, Severus and I were becoming real friends, despite my incapability of truly responding to what he said. So, yeah, a word or two... I would sometimes move slowly or try to say something, but it was really difficult. Anyways, after awhile, he went to Hogwarts, When he came back after a long, cold year, I could see something had changed in him. He told me that nobody liked him too much. That he enjoyed studying. That he liked Potions... He loved the cauldrons and the potions... Ah, Potions, such a lonely subject! But that was why he loved it. He also mentioned 'James Potter and co' quite a lot. Never good things"  
  
"It figures" Harry said as Colt stopped to look at him.  
  
"Anyways, I thought he'd forget me soon. Just that... he didn't. He still cared for me, even though I could see that he was becoming darker and darker. When he was 17, he wanted to join the one he wanted to call the dark lord and gain power. I wanted to stop him, but how could I? I just showed me my sadness... And then, poof! One day he comes home and talks to me about this Jack Strois fellow he met who told him to join Dumbledore. The weird part is, I've always heard of Jack Strois. Even three hundred years ago. So, normally, I felt a bit weird as he told me all that, but I was happy that he chose for everything to be that way and I showed it to him. So, soon he was working as a spy and everything was just fine."  
  
Colt paused a little and smiled at them, daring them to ask what happened next.  
  
"What happened next?" Draco inevitably asked.  
  
"Well, he wanted to become a Potion Master. So he went to study the subject further. When he came home, he somehow managed to create a potion to animate half-animated statues. He made it for me. He cared for me so much that he spent tones of his time to bring me to life... for real. And so I became who I am now, thanks to the miracle of him still liking his childhood friend. And then... then was her"  
  
He paused again, a mischievous glint in his eyes and he looked at each and every one of the ones present there.  
  
"Monica. She was one hell of a woman, must say that. I of course knew Severus had had a few lovers through time, but only with her did he really fall in love with. She was beautiful and graceful and smart... All that he liked in somebody, she had. There was the small episode with the death of his parents sometime around then, they got killed by a werewolf, not such a big deal for Severus. So, soon, I could see her in this very manor. She helped him decorate... She lived in this very wing of the manor. Severus lived in the other."  
  
"They didn't live together?!" Draco asked, surprised. "I mean, even my parents sleep together"  
  
"Hey! They were together all the time, except when they slept. They slept in two completely different rooms!" Colt said, shaking his head. "But it kept their relationship really fresh, actually. One year and it was just like at the beginning!... Ah, but I'm forgetting to mention something here. She was the only woman that Severus courted for real."  
  
Colt chuckled at the memories and at the amazed faces of the teens.  
  
"Oh, yeah, Severus really loved her. And she was, besides wonderful in many points of view, a mistress in a few arts... She thought him many things. Let's just say she made him a wonderful lover to have. I see you can't believe it, but he shows it to those he wants to show it to. I mean, consider it: he has to be snappy and all that, he's a Death Eater, albeit a spy. But he can be a great friend and lover. You can see it in his eyes. It was wonderful for the both of them. But then, after two years, she had to leave... They mourned the end together and even years after they parted, they still keep in touch. As friends now, but they are really warm with each other."  
  
The wolf jumped on the couch next to Hermione.  
  
"So, now I heard he loves somebody else" he said with a grin. "Three guesses who..."  
  
"Amala!" they all said nearly in the same time.  
  
"Oh, yeah" Colt replied with a nod.  
  
"Which reminds me" Hermione said and took out a small bit of paper. "She left this to me when she hugged me goodbye"  
  
They all looked curiously at her as she unfolded it and cleared her voice.  
  
"Dear Hermione,  
  
Please read this out loud. You're probably all wondering what was up with me at the meeting. So, I'd like to say first that I'm really sorry for you, Jane. I wish I could have said that to you in person.  
  
Unfortunately, I couldn't, for the same reason why I couldn't go to Severus's manor. I had to keep away from everybody, I was bugged by the Ministry. Apparently, they're trying to sack Severus as fast as possible, reason: he was a Death Eater. But they couldn't just sack him like that, so they had to get a real reason to do it. Like being in a relationship with a student. Of course I know he made it clear at the end of the school year, but they can't sack him for hugging a student. I had to be cold and bitchy and stay away from people that could have said anything about us. Also, if I accepted to go to Severus's manor, they'd have kept me tracked. I hope they'll remove these things from me now.  
  
Again, sorry for not socializing... and really, really sorry I couldn't say anything to you in person, Jane. But as you will soon see, everything shall turn out alright.  
  
Love,  
  
Amala"  
  
"That explains things" Ron muttered slowly.  
  
"Yeah, it does" Jane said slowly. "I really had been wondering why she had kept herself in a corner and spat at everybody. And it was nice of her to say she was sorry for me"  
  
Colt looked at her and realization appeared in his eyes.  
  
"Oh, child..." he said slowly and nuzzled her with his cold marble nose, making her smile sadly.  
  
They all looked at each other for a few seconds before Draco asked slowly:  
  
"So... how do we sleep?"  
  
"Um... I'll stay with Harry" Ron said.  
  
"I'll stay with Ginny" Hermione said, smiling at the youngest Weasley.  
  
"How about we say together?" Jane asked Luna and the other smiled and nodded approvingly.  
  
"That leaves us two bedrooms" Draco concluded. "I'll take one of them. Neville, you take the other. No offence!"  
  
"None taken" Neville said and they all got up from the armchairs. "But guys, do you think the house elves delivered our trunks right?"  
  
"Hope so" Draco replied. "I don't feel like carrying those things around."  
  
"They'll get them right, don't worry" Colt said with a wolfish smile and ran at a quick pace to the door, opened it and howled: "Inkle!"  
  
The eight went to witness the scene. A house elf, so much different from Krowcher, was standing in front of Colt and smiling in what seemed to be a disturbed fashion. He had a small pointed nose and floppy ears. He was thin and small and had dirty rags and fingers. He looked as if he was a child in trouble.  
  
"Hello, master" the elf said, making the eight feel that he had done something wrong.  
  
"Have you been playing with Severus's inks again?" Colt asked and the others turned their attention to the house elf's ink tainted rags and his ink-tainted fingers.  
  
"Huh... Yes?" he said, forgive-me smile getting larger.  
  
"Ah..." Colt said, shaking his head. "Listen, bring all the trunks here, we need to sort them out. Now"  
  
The small elf nodded his head and disappeared with a pop. In less than three minutes, trunks rushed at a high speed towards the group and three elves rode on top of them. Krowcher was like an old, respectable man. He was standing tall and proud on the first trunk. Inkle was enjoying himself and riding on the thing sitting and acting as if it were a horse. Spot, the third, was fat and small and had two floppy ears and a tomato-like nose. He was trying to keep his balance while standing on the trunk.  
  
They stopped right in front of the eight teens and they were told how to put the trunks around the dormitories. Soon, they all went to bed. Jane politely asked Colt to sleep in her and Hermione's dormitory, which he agreed to full heartedly.  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-  
  
AN: I have no clue where Colt came from. I really like him, though. So, review!  
  
Responds to reviews:  
  
Alcapacien: Thanks!  
  
Tsuetsu: Thank you!  
  
Jrayner1276: Thanks for the review and I hope it's soon enough! 


	3. Things Found Out

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**Author's Note**: Quite a funny thing, I must say: I haven't written in about a month because I was away and well, I kinda forgot what I wanted this chapter to be about. So, the title 'things found out' came as a surprise to me and then it rung a bell... but what things were found out? I really, really can't remember. Well, I know _one_ of them, but I frankly have no clue which the other was. I feel like a have a hippogriff jumping up and down in my head here with effort to remember! I only know what the _Things_ are definitely not about!

And as I once specified, thinking 'Think, Zimagesto, think!' doesn't help much...;-)

So on to the next chapter! –and fear not, since I forgot, it means it wasn't really important. Just something I kept forgetting –wow, that's a wonder. But I've replaced it... ;-) Hope ya like what I've got in store for you.

Chapter 3: Things Found Out

Harry was by no means a psychologist. In fact, he knew nothing of psychology. But what he _did_ know was that Colt had a definitely great influence on Jane. He had somehow wormed his way into the girl's heart. He would manage to cheer her up whenever she started sobbing again. Surprisingly, all Snape did was rise an eyebrow at his marble friend amusedly –the 'amusedly' part when he thought nobody noticed-.

Yes, Colt was a great influence on the young girl. His caring, yet cheery self helped her through a lot of things. Frankly, Harry could see how the wolf had managed to help Snape as well.

However, the infamous Potions Master at Hogwarts was not as pleased with the constant walking through his house of rampaging students. After their first night in the house, they had started exploring, guided by the safe hands –or paws, rather- of one very specific marble wolf. And Hermione had discovered the absolutely huge library on the ground floor which was done in an old-fashioned style, of course having stairs to be able to get the higher books and the colors being quite dark. She had fallen in love from the very first second.

Then, they had discovered rooms upon rooms with interesting things... and that the Snape Manor was _huuuuuuuuuge_. As in, really huge. It wasn't how they had all expected it to be, just a large building with one ground floor plus one floor and maybe dungeons. Somehow, they had all gotten the impression that the architecture of the house was simple, that the house looked somewhat like a photo camera or a matchbox that was put on one side and had the height and depth readjusted.

And boy, where they wrong. It was rather like a... Like a... well, Harry didn't know what it was like. An anthill, maybe. The building spread on a great surface and it was clear to everybody why Snape had told them about getting lost. Because it was very possible to do so. There were about ten interior courtyards and there were tons of corridors and rooms that surrounded them. Yep, an anthill. Or a really large labyrinth.

The part of the house they had seen was small compared to the rest and it was decorated in a modern way. The part of the house that was opposite to it was dark and old-looking, mysterious, almost as if nobody ever went through there. Which, Colt told them, was exactly the case. The wolf guided them around the place, to the indoor swimming pool and in the weird-portrait rooms. However, he kept them away from the 'other wing' of the part of the house where they had been in.

"Severus's rooms, stay away if you don't want to be dead" Colt said with a wink.

And then, there were _the grounds_. Well, they exceeded expectations. They were downright Outstanding, to tell the truth. There was a lake and a part of a forest –"The Forest of Wolves, but the part that's _tame_, if you know what I mean" Colt had said and had shown them the wall to the real Forest of Wolves-. Then, there were the ornamental gardens which had nearly every type of non-dangerous plant known to them. And then, there were the greenhouses...

"You know what I don't get?" Harry asked himself rhetorically as he entered the manor –no, castle!

"What?" Colt asked.

"Um... Snape seemed to be the kind of a guy who lived in a small dark house, you know?" Harry said slowly, remembering what he had seen in Snape's memories.

"Not small, but dark definitely" Colt agreed. "Everything was dark and shadowy, even in the sunny days..."

Harry shook his head off the other man's memories... but he remembered one in which a girl was laughing at him when he was trying to mount a broomstick. Who was that girl?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Harry was walking towards the entrance of the castle with a bottle of water in his hand when a smiling raven-haired girl walked towards him.

"Hey, Harry!" she said with a grin.

"Amala?" Harry said, frowning. "What are you doing here?"

"I just realized" she said with a grin "that I needn't worry about the Ministry. I never broke the law! Neither did Severus!"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, maintaining his frown.

"I mean, silly, there's nothing in the world that they could possibly find against either of us in this relationship" she said with a grin. "I'm not underage anymore! There's _nothing_ the Ministry might have against us! And the school rules say nothing about a teacher and a student being together."

"Oh, um, well, congratulations" Harry said.

"Where is he?" Amala asked.

"Who? Ah, Snape" Harry said. "He's in his dungeons –his, um, his lab. It's on the right side, on the ground floor, first door on the left, you go underground. If you can't find him there, dinner is in about half an hour, the dinning room is on the ground floor, on the left, first on the left."

"Thanks" she said with a grin and walked to Severus's lab.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Severus was brewing something in his underground laboratory, carefully measuring his ingredients. He smiled to himself, as he usually did when he was taking care of a potion and he was sure everything would turn out fine.

He threw some unicorn hairs in the simmering cauldron and adjusted the fire under it. He then collapsed on his favorite armchair and relaxed in one second. He had at least two hours before the potion would be ready for the next step. Meanwhile, what _would_ he do?

He just relaxed for five minutes. The potion he was just brewing was an experiment, actually. He'd never tried it before... And if it worked and he would be able to combine it with another, the results would be great...

Yep, he was very intelligent.

And a great Potions Master.

Before he could let his ego drown the whole room, the door to his very own private dungeon-laboratory opened and a very, very familiar person slid inside.

"Hi, Severus" she said with a very mischievous smile.

"Amala?" he asked, gaping for a second before gathering himself up. "What are you doing here? What is the Ministry going to..."

"I've been studying the law... and the school rules" she said with a smirk, cutting him off intentionally. "And guess what I read?"

"What?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously and forgetting to get up from his armchair. She decided to take care of that problem and went to him and sat on his lap.

"Well, it is not against any law that a person under seventeen be dating any man whatsoever" she started with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "And the school rules say nothing about a relationship between student and teacher being forbidden"

"But both rules and law definitely say something against a relationship of... sexual nature between a 16 year-old and a 39 year-old" he mused.

"That's just it Severus" she said with an even more mischievous glint. "We _didn't_ break the law or rules"

"But how do they know we won't now?" the Potion Master asked.

"We _can't_ do it now" she said and burst out in laughter as he eyed her disbelievingly. "Alas, being underaged disappears when you turn 17, you know"

His eyes turned wide as he watched her say that.

"Wasn't your birthday on the 19th of July?" he questioned slowly.

"July?!" she said, frowning. "So _that's_ why you sent me no happy-birthday anything! I thought you were afraid the owl might be intercepted by the Ministry! No, my birthday was on the 19th of June! And since the underage business lasts until you're _18_ in Romania, I had completely forgotten it's different here"

"Oh, bother" Severus said, rolling his eyes.

"Yep" she said and put a small kiss on his lips. Which said small kiss turned passionate.

Finally braking apart, the two smiled at each other and Severus said slowly:

"Well, I'm really sorry for mixing up your birthday... If I'd have known, I'd have definitely sent you my gift"

"Oh, I don't mind getting one later" she laughed. "You're forgiven"

"How about I give it to you _now_?" he asked, purring in her ear.

"What? _Now_?" she asked, frowning and feeling a bit less certain. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well..." Severus said and took out his wand from his pocket. "_Accio_!"

Her eyes grew wide as a small package rushed in his hand.

"You _have_ something for me?" she asked, gaping slightly.

"Of course" he replied, smirking. "Bought it on my last trip to Diagon Alley... I'm not sure you'll like it, but..."

He handed it to her and she opened it curiously. Inside was one of the most delicate and nice silver chains she had ever seen with a silver medallion attacked. It was shaped like an eye, but instead of being horizontally attached to the chain, it was vertically attached to it and it held a crystal in it.

"It's wonderful" she breather and took it out of the box. "I really love it!"

"I try my best" he replied with a somewhat kind smirk, if such a thing did exist, and kissed her.

"Well, don't you want to see how it looks on me?" she asked with her excited smile.

"Of course I do" he replied and put it around her neck. "There... You look extraordinarily beautiful. As always..."

She smiled back at him in return and put a kiss on his lips. One that he was not all that eager to end. And neither was she, as a matter of fact. She gasped against his mouth as one of his hands slid under her blouse... she definitely didn't mind, though, and she felt her body shiver a little.

"We... we should go" she said after awhile of really, really enjoying herself.

"And why is that?" Severus asked, not looking too happy at the thought of leaving.

"Well, Harry said that you'd be having dinner soon and..." she said.

"Harry?! You ran into Potter?!" Severus cut her off surprised.

"Yeah" she replied. "When I came"

"How did you get here, anyway?" Severus continued his questioning, only now realizing that it was not normal for her to be there.

"I Apparated?" she replied, suddenly looking sheepish.

"You can Apparate?!" he asked, raising his eyebrows, but not being all that surprised.

"Um... Yes?" she said, looking really sheepish.

"How?" Severus asked. "And since when?"

"For a year and a half and I learned it from my parents. It's not illegal in Romania to learn it or to practice it even without registering" she replied and then frowned. "Or at least I hope so"

"Anything else I don't know about you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mm... Yeah, many things" she replied. "Hey, don't cut my head off for it, ok? So, shall we go?"

"Of course" he replied as she got up from his lap and smiled at him. He got up too and looked at his simmering cauldron. "I'll have to finish that sometime... Tomorrow, maybe"

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"Revelation potion" he replied. "It..."

"I know it" she said with a smile. "For five minutes, a person acts the way he wants to deep inside. But... why are you doing it? I mean, it's a nice potion and all, but it's supposed to be difficult to make and surely you have nothing to gain out of giving it to anyone"

"Well, I'm trying to combine it with another potion" Severus replied with a small delighted smile at her knowledge.

"Which one?" she questioned.

"The Animal-Turning one" he replied and smiled expectantly at her.

"What for?" she asked with a frown. "It would probably show the animal that the drinker is most connected to"

"Precisely" he replied with a mysterious smile.

"Why?" she asked again in a confused fashion.

"Think about it" he replied.

"Um... I don't know" she replied with a frown. "Tell me why! Please..."

"So that one could see what he or she would look like as an Animagus in animal form"

Amala's eyes widened at the revelation and she smiled.

"You're one crazy and very smart wizard, did you know that?" she asked and her eyes started to twinkle. "Please let me try it when you get it right"

"It is possible that I won't get it right, maybe it is impossible to melt these two potions together" he said with an amused smile.

"Oh, come on, Severus, you're the best potion brewer around" she replied. "If there's anyone who can do it, it's you"

"Why, tank you" he replied with a half-sarcastic voice and offered her an arm. "Shall we?"

"Of course" she replied and happily took it.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Five minutes later, when they entered the dining room, everybody was surprised to see them together, arm in arm, Snape actually smiling for a change. Of course, he smiled for a quarter of a second after they entered and then went back to being his usual, dark and bastard self. Amala kept smiling, though.

"So, hey, Amala, nice to see you again" Ginny said with a smile and a concerned look towards the Potions Master.

"Nice to see you too" the girl replied as both she and Snape sat down –next to each other of course. And unfortunately for Neville, he was just next to his Professor. Ron let out a breath as Amala sat next to him. "Where's Jane?" she asked concernedly.

"She's out with Colt, she should be back here soon" Ginny replied.

"Who's Colt?" Amala asked with a frown.

"Professor Snape's wolf" Draco replied. "An animated marble statue that has a great personality"

"Jane is out sitting by some statue?" Amala asked, her frown getting deeper.

"No, he's showing her the nicest places in the forest" Draco replied and Amala looked at him confusedly and was about to ask something more when the two in question entered.

"Hello, sorry I'm late" Jane said and smiled at them, truly happy. "We lost track of time"

Amala stared at the brownish wolf that entered behind her, very much alive.

"New person!" the wolf said and made his way to Amala. "I'm Colt, who're you?"

"Um... hi, I'm Amala" she replied and he grinned a wolfish grin.

"Are you really? Heard about you, kid, and only good stuff" he said and turned his head towards Snape. "_You_ have some explaining to do, Severus."

"After lunch" he replied with a friendly smile.

"Ok" he replied and lied down by the door. "I'll be waiting"

"_That_ you will, my friend" Severus said with a nice smile and, when Neville eyed him in a weird way, he glared dangerously towards the boy.

They had a nice dinner after which the students were off to tell Amala about what had happened while they had been at Snape manor–or castle? Of course, Snape was off with Colt and they both seemed to have a very important discussion.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Ah, so _that's_ what's up with Colt" Amala said and rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "Finally, I get it"

"It's not _that_ hard to get" Ron said in a friendly way that was probably meant to make her feel better.

"Even you understood everything, haven't you, Weasley?" Draco sneered.

It had taken about half an hour of the others talking to her in order for her to understand everything from Colt to the new book Hermione was reading. Neville was kind enough not to mention the plants he was working on.

They had finally passed the urge to tell her everything now, so she could relax in that very comfortable armchair that was in the huge hall where Colt had stayed as a statue, waiting for the 'master of the manor' to appear and to tell Amala where she would be spending the night. She had brought he luggage and had given it to Inkle when she had arrived.

"And what happened at Number 12?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Not much really" Amala replied. "I mean, really, not much. You parents miss you, Hermione and Neville... Your grandma hopes you're still alive"

They all chuckled at that, some of them wondering if she knew of Neville's boggart... and the way he had defeated it once.

"Well, I'm writing to her, so she must get the point" Neville muttered. "And plus, Snape's been a lot less mean to me since I've started taking care of his plants in the greenhouse. No offense to house elves, but they don't really know how to take care of all of them"

"And they wouldn't have time to do it, either, this place is huge" Ginny added and turned towards Amala. "We should give you an honorific tour of the hugest manor I've ever seen after he tells you where you sleep tonight"

"Probably in _his_ bedroom" Draco said with a smirk and all the eyes turned towards him. "You _aren't_ underage anymore, you know that right?" he asked, an eyebrow risen.

"Ugh, Malfoy. Sometimes, we can do _without _such mental images" Ron said, making a disgusted face.

"Hey, Amala!" they heard a voice and turned their heads only to see Colt walking towards them at a fast pace, Snape on his left. "Let me show you to _your_ bedroom"

Amala got up and the wolf grinned at her, reaching the group of students.

"Show me" she said with a mischievous smile. Colt lead her towards the place where the others had their bedrooms in and Ron smiled wickedly at Draco.

"You were wrong, _Malfoy_" he said with a lot of satisfaction.

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't" he replied smugly and Ron's face fell.

"What is this all about?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You _don't_ want to find out, sir" Ginny said, daring to smile at the Potion Master who just raised his eyebrow.

"I don't, do I?" he muttered and left in the direction of his laboratory, the others getting up and going after Amala.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

They were all getting ready for dinner and Amala was very happy about her room. She had a huge double bed –in cream sheets- and flowers on a table and a few armchairs... A very lovely bedroom indeed. It reminded her a bit of someone, she just couldn't tell who.

She smiled to herself as she slipped on her slippers –and she just loved saying that out loud. Soon, she was muttering to herself "let me slip on the slipping slippers, 'cause I'm sleepy and I'll slip on the slippery stairs" and laughing. She was in a good mood when she met with the others and they went downstairs chatting happily, but her mood increased even more as she saw the tall house elf –Krowcher, she remembered- open the door to the dinning room which was wonderfully decorated. There were candles everywhere and roses on the table and everything was just...

"I never knew the slimy git _could_ be romantic" Ron muttered to himself.

"He is, but this is not his work" said a voice from the table and they all saw Colt grinning at them. "This is _my_ work. And school or no school, Ronald Weasley, you should pay some respect for your teachers!"

Ron scowled at the wolf as he grinned even wider and said further:

"That's _Professor_ Slimy Git, you get it?"

They snickered and sat down, leaving one chair at the end of the table for Snape to take. The chair at the other end of the table was unanimously given to Amala.

In less than three minutes, Snape himself arrived and jerked back at the sight of his... _romantic_ dining room. Then, he walked towards the end of the table, sat down and asked with an unreadable face and with an unreadable voice:

"_Who_ did this?"

"Why, Severus, Inkle, of course" Colt replied with a grin. "He was more than happy to do it"

"At whose order?" Severus inquired further.

"Mine, you should know that by now" the wolf replied carelessly. "Enjoy!"

To Harry's surprise, Snape muttered to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear:

"That wolf's sleeping outside tonight"

They chuckled to themselves and hoped that that had been a joke and tucked into the food that appeared on the table Hogwarts-style: some very nice soup, then some pasta and at desert chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream. After their dinner, Snape excused himself, saying he needed to work on a potion and if they desired to, Granger, Malfoy and Wright would be allowed to help. All three of them accepted to do so and went to the laboratory with their Potion Master who told them to make Animal-Turning potion but without adding anything from any animal in it. He was working on a completely different thing and they could all see that from the fuchsia bubbles that were bursting out of his cauldron.

After they considered they did enough brewing for one night –or rather, after Snape considered they did enough brewing for one night- they went to bed. All but one of them.

"What are you doing tonight?" Severus purred in his girlfriend's ear as the two... 'intruders' left his lab. He was behind her, his arms circling her waist as he leaned over her shoulder.

"Sleeping?" she asked amusedly.

"Where?"

She smirked to herself.

"Maybe Draco knows you better than we thought..." she said playfully and he frowned.

"What does he have to do with anything?"

"A comment he made" she replied and smirked.

"What comment?" he inquired further.

"You _don't_ want to know" she replied in the same playful tone.

"_What_ did he say?" Severus asked, becoming curious. Maybe this was what Ginevra had been talking about before.

"I'll tell you... tomorrow morning" she replied and he growled. She raised an amused eyebrow. You didn't hear Severus Snape _growl_ every day.

"Fine. But where do you intend on sleeping?"

"In that _beautiful_ bedroom you gave to me" she replied teasingly. "After all... If I'm 17 doesn't mean I'm more mature than at 16..."

Severus kissed her neck gently and moved up to her ear, slowly biting on her earlobe.

"I can feed you some of my Revelation potion" he purred.

"That won't help too much, it only works five minutes" she replied leaning onto him, starting to give up to his gentle touches.

"On the contrary, it works for five hours" Severus replied and she gulped as his tongue somehow ended up on her earlobe. "It was an ingredient that reduced its effect in time..." Amala was wondering how she could still understand what he was saying... his hands were exploring her body in a way they hadn't done before... And his tongue was back at her ear. She gasped in surprise as it slid in, but before she could ponder on it, she understood.

"Whoa" she moaned, leaning into Severus.

"You wouldn't imagine that from a simple ear, would you?" he asked and she could _feel_ his smirk. "The ear has many... nerves. It can cause more pleasure than expected."

"You're so right" she said, wondering if it came out as a moan.

"I could show you some _other_ very interesting parts of your body" he continued his whisper and one of his hands lay over her breast.

"Since when are you... wow" she half-asked, leaning into him and smiling at the ceiling, eyes closed.

"Since the ministry can't shoot me down for touching you in any way I want" Severus replied and smiled against her ear.

"They couldn't shoot you down for this before" she said mischievously.

"No... But you seem to want to go forward... and a part of 'forward' is something they would love to shoot me down for" he replied. "Actually, I wasn't quite sure where they drew the line. It would have really hurt me to see you want more, want to give you more and not be able to do it"

"What if I don't want to move forward?" she asked, suddenly feeling less at ease.

"Then we stop here" he replied. "We do whatever you want"

That calmed her down a little. His hands had stopped touching her and were now resting around her waist again. She relaxed slightly and felt him ask in a calmer tone:

"So? What are you doing tonight?"

She turned her gaze towards him and their eyes connected. She let out a small sigh and said slowly:

"Dunno, what am I doing tonight?"

But before he could reply, she pressed her lips to his for a few seconds.

"How about you tell me?" he asked with a smirk.

"How about I meet you somewhere?" she asked, smirking herself.

"How about in front of where Colt's statue should be?" he continued the small game.

"How about after everybody goes to sleep?"

"How about you tell me when that is?"

"How about at one a.m.?"

"How about it being quite late?" he said, raising an amused eyebrow.

"How about me not caring?" she said, shaking her head slowly.

"How about hiding this from your friends?"

"How about me sleeping in my own bedroom tonight?" she said innocently.

"Fine by me if it's fine by you" he said after pondering for ten seconds about it.

"Fine by me if it's fine by you too" she replied and chuckled. "Now, how about we go to our rooms?"

Severus laughed.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Hello, Severus" said Amala, descending the stairs. "_You're_ half an hour early"

"So are you" he replied visibly surprised. "I was just on my way to the kitchen, what is your excuse?"

"They've let me go to bed early" she replied with a smile and reached him.

"Surprising" he replied, raising an eyebrow. "I truly cannot believe it"

"I can" she chuckled. "Colt said that you were a 'night owl' and so we would not be able to scout the manor after our own free will, but if we got up early tomorrow morning, it would be guaranteed you'd be asleep and we could relax."

"That wolf..." Severus muttered and shook his head.

"Hey, he's on your side!" Amala said playfully.

"I know, but sometimes..." he shook his head again. "Where is he anyway?"

"In Jane's bedroom" Amala said slowly. "He has a really good influence on her, you know"

"I do not doubt it" he replied, looking in her eyes. "Colt has a way of fixing broken hearts"

"I can see that Jane's better now" she replied. "So, what'd you want to get from the kitchens?"

"A glass of water" he replied. "And perhaps something to eat"

Amala started laughing and he raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"_The _Horror of Hogwarts himself, the Great Potion Master and the Fear of All Non-Slytherins is going down to his kitchens to have a midnight snack before meeting his girlfriend. Don't you believe it ruins your perfect horrible appearance? It makes you seem quite human"

"Ha, ha, I'm laughing myself to death" came the dry reply. "Would you like to join me?"

"Why of course, I could use a warm glass of milk while I wait for you to devour your most unfortunate meal" she said, her eyes twinkling.

"I think I'll just forget the food" he muttered darkly. "I rather dislike the vampiric jokes"

"Hey, didn't mean to offend you" she said and grabbed his hand. "I thought you were taking them as really good jokes. Plus, think about it: it might even be a compliment"

"Pardon?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean it. Look at the vampires in movies, yeah, they're dark, but they also have that... something, that charisma, that power... Maybe it's a compliment" she said with a wink and he sighed helplessly.

"Anyway it may be, I really couldn't care less right now. Now, shall we?" he said with a smirk and took her arm.

"Sure, count Snapela" she replied and chuckled at his growl.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Pay up" Draco said towards Ron with a huge smirk.

"Damn" the other replied and took a sickle out of his pocket and gave it to the blond. "Guess you were right"

"Exactly my point" Draco said with a brand new smirk. "See? It was a great idea to let her go early and where did she go? Straight in the arms of one Severus Snape"

"Maybe she won't spend the night there" Hermione said with a mischievous smile. "And then you owe us all one galleon each. Well, except for Ron, of course, he was thick enough to bet that she wouldn't go meet him tonight"

"Not one chance of her coming back" Draco laughed. "I'll be rich!"

"Well, perhaps he is right and he _should_ be rich" Jane said and everybody raised an eyebrow towards her. "Otherwise, it's going to be frustrating, not having a huge fortune to match the huge ego"

"Hey" Draco muttered.

"Oh, well, I'm placing the wards up in case she comes back we can hear her" Hermione said with a huge smile and left out the door.

"You know" Draco commented, watching her back disappear, "sometimes I really wonder if Potter and Weasley weren't too much of an influence on her. She's starting to _scare_ me"

/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Come up to my room" Severus murmured into Amala's ear.

"Told you, I should be going back to _my_ room" she replied, although she leaned into him.

"Your mouth speaks one thing, your eyes speak another" he said with a small smile.

"Either way, I _should_ and _will_ go to my room now" came the reply. "No matter what you say –or do- that is where I'm going."

"Then perhaps I should join you?" he practically purred.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind" she said and shook her head. "Bloody Slytherin" she muttered and he chuckled.

"Now, why would you say that?" he asked amusedly. "Very well then, I will walk you to your bedroom"

"That I cannot refuse" she replied.

They walked in a comfortable silence until they reached her room.

"I have a feeling you won't allow me in" he murmured in her ear somewhat playfully.

"Your feelings are quite fine tuned, I see" she replied with a chuckle. "Well... goodnight Severus"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Draco said, seeing the red orb that appeared in the middle of the room, much to the amusement of Colt.

"Pay up, Draco, pay up" Jane said with a smirk towards the blond.

"Darn" he muttered again and took out a leather bag and paid them all a galleon each. Meanwhile, Mark Evans suddenly seemed quite contradicted about something. Draco shot him a look and asked, raising an eyebrow:

"What's up kid?" the blond asked.

"I was suddenly wondering..." Mark said and everybody turned towards him. "How on Earth could I not have noticed it before..." he murmured, gazing at Draco amazedly.

"Notice what?" Draco sneered.

"You're not at home with your parents" Mark said slowly and Jane let out a small gasp.

"Well, what, you wanted me to be there? My father's a Death Eater, you _must_ know that" Draco said, shaking his head as the others got Mark's point. Where _had_ he been? "I mean, _come on_"

"Then, where were you for the beginning of summer?" Hermione asked in a very calm tone, not seeming as surprised as the rest of the others who were hitting their heads against the wall and asking themselves how come they hadn't noticed such a simple thing.

Draco's mouth closed and he sighed.

"Caught me" he said slowly. "I wasn't at home"

"Where were you?" Jane asked, raising an eyebrow. However, the answer did not come from Draco, but from Ginny.

"Here" she said, the others watching her wide-eyed.

"How do _you_ know?!" Ron asked, frowning deeply.

"Guess!" she said in a duh tone.

"She's right" Draco said slowly. "I was here since the beginning of summer. I emptied my vault at Gringotts the first time I got in Diagon Alley and I now have a nice fortune that my parents gave to me in better times."

"So, that was it" Hermione said slowly. "I'd been wondering. After all, you couldn't have been all this safe now if it hadn't had been with some interesting turn of events"

Draco looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.

"Oh my God, a Gryffindor that _thinks_!" he said awed and without any hint of sarcasm, making the others, and especially Ron, glare at him. "Hey, don't look at me like that, she has the mind of a Ravenclaw... Or recently, of a Slytherin. Tsk, tsk, Granger, you're starting to act like a _Pureblood_, what'll happen next?"

"Is that... Meant to be an insult?" Neville asked slowly. "I don't get it"

"Oh, never mind, it's quite late, maybe words don't come out of my mouth as they should" the blonde said dismissively.

"Maybe? They definitely don't" Ron replied sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up, Weasel" Draco said, rolling his eyes. "You really suck at the sarcasm..."

The door opened and they all turned to look towards the intruder. He was tall, dark and glaring. Just the way they liked him.

"_Who_ put wards in _my _house?" Snape asked, glaring at his students.

"Oh, shucks" Mark said and took out his galleon, holding it over to Hermione. "You win"

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow and watching the others shake their heads.

"He lost the bet" Ron said as if that explained everything in the world.

"Oh, really?" the Potion Master said in sarcasm. "And what was the bet _about_?"

"That you'd see the wards" Jane explained with a hint of a smile. He glared at her. What were they trying to do, confuse him by answering in turns?

"Which were there in the first place why?" he insisted.

"So we could check up on another bet" Draco replied, taking up his cue. "Professor, they took away my money!"

Snape smirked evilly and shook his head, getting himself ready for revenge.

"How many times have I told you not to bet, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked smirking. "But next time, please refrain from warding _my _house"

There was a collective 'yes, sir' as Snape exited. Hermione smiled smugly while Mark was thinking that he hadn't lost anything that he had ever truly _had._ Draco, however, didn't seem too pleased.

"You still have that sickle" Ron pointed out and smirked thinking that Draco's face when he said it was worth every knut.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

AN: I still have no clue about what I wanted to say as a second 'thing found out'. It had something to do with OotP and something I'd missed out talking about. If you guys have any clue as to what it may have been, please, please tell me! I'm wrecking my brains here trying to remember.

Also, feed me! No, thanks, I'll pass the chips, I'm more interested in reviews.

Review replies:

Tsuetsu: Thanks and I don't know about ending up in the Wolf Forest, they just _might_ do it. But no, not now, I don't think... And I quite like Colt myself ;-)

Inu-kokoro: Thanks! I like Colt too, he's got that certain dose of optimism –no wonder Severus brought him to life, no? And... the secret about Monica coming out? Well, yes, in a way... ponders yep, it does sort of come out, now doesn't it? As for the Ministry, they're quite thick. But they'll have their payback. That's a promise ;-)

Skillz: thanks!

Alcapacien: Hey! I want a talking wolf statue too! takes out pen and paper _Dear Santa, I know it's kind of early but I want you to know that this Christmas all I want is one alive wolf statue. Thanks_. There, all done. All I have to do is wait. And as for Remus... hmm... I think he and Colt would get along quite well.

Eiggizlulu: Wow... Thanks! You've just made my day –or rather night, since it's quite late as I read your review- feel tones better. big goofy grin

marauder#3: Thanks! I really hope this story goes just as smoothly myself. It better, or I'll... Well, I've no clue what I'd do.

GamingGuy84: Thanks for your very kind review and sorry for the long delay –been to France and remained computerless for awhile.


	4. The Ministry and the Birds

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**Author's Note**: I've got myself a livejournal! Hip, hip hurrah! And I promise to keep it updated and tell you about the work I get on my stories! huge 

Chapter 4: The Ministry and the Birds

"I stand before you

And ask for your mercy

But in the name of your goodness,

In the name of your fairness,

You take away

All that is Beautiful"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Breakfast at Snape Manor was a pleasant affair. Snape himself was much less pissed during eating said meal, especially since Amala was next to him. His trademark comments were, if not less numerous, at least less intimidating.

"Longbottom, watch out, with your talents for Potions, you may blow up your tea" he said, raising an eyebrow at the boy who sat on his right, carefully adding some sugar to his drink.

"Right, sir" Neville said, gulping to himself. Of course he _would_ end up next to the Potions Master all the times, wouldn't he?

Amala just smirked to herself while sipping her own tea.

"Mrs. Wright, I assure you, there is no reason for laughing, if he were to challenge you now in a duel, you would probably kill yourself with a mixed up hex"

Amala shook her head slowly, wishing she could reply to his insult. But of course, she couldn't find anything in time. Darn.

All in all, breakfast was alright. Amala started singing 'Material Girl' by Madonna to piss the Potion Master off and she put extra heart in "Boys may come and boys may go, and that's alright with me/ Experience has made me rich and now they're after me", but he was definitely not impressed. Ah, well, it had been worth a try...

At one point, somebody stepped –or rather, fell through- the fireplace. The people in the room stared at him as he got up. He was a rather solid man with graying hair and small, piggish eyes. Actually, he looked a lot like a wild pig, which did not mean well.

"Severus Snape?" he barked.

"Why, yes..." Snape answered in a cold, deadly voice that did not sound at all like the snappy, but not evil, comments that he had said all through breakfast. "Any reason for... dropping into my dining room unannounced?"

"Indeed there is, Snape" the man replied. "You have been warned of breaking the law and the Ministry..."

"And therefore I do not even get to know your name or your purpose. How... civilized" he said, his eyes dark and cold.

"Mortimer Bulla" he said with spite. "From the Magical Law Enforcement Squad"

"What a pleasure" the Potion Master said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, but Bulla decided not to comment that.

"You have been warned this summer of continuing relationship with one Amala Wright. We see that it has been in vain and therefore we will..."

"What exactly was the problem of said relationship?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow. "Please, do remind me"

Bulla rolled his eyes and said in a pissed fashion:

"One: Amala Wright is underage and sexual relationships with an underage person are forbidden by law. Two: You have taken advantage of your professorship, as she is your student. Three: You have corrupted a minor. Isn't. that. enough?"

Snape rolled eyes and looked at Bulla with a disrespectful gaze.

"Well, then... One: she is not underage anymore and before. And, as you can see in her testimony under Veritaserum, we have not done anything that would be considered of 'sexual nature'. I do believe the exact quote would be "kisses and light touches, as well as the occasional hug or lie down, only kisses being more than what two good friends would do". Am I right?"

"Yes" Amala said, blushing hard.

"As for the second accusation, I am sure that you will find that I did _not_ take advantage of my professorship, as can be deduced from her testimony. I cannot recall the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of her coming to me first and me not wanting too much to do with her" he said and snuck a look towards those at the table. They were watching everything interestedly and Draco had a very respectful look on his face, seeing his Professor's coolness given the situation. Amala lowered her head and muttered "that last one's an understatement".

"And anyway" he continued "there are no school rules against teacher/student relationships. Third, corrupting her to _what_, exactly? I frankly do not recall ever telling her to sleep with me or anything of the sort."

Bulla just stared at Snape with spite in his eyes.

"Quite finished, I hope?" he said with an ugly look on his face.

"Yes" the Potion Master said coldly.

"Well, she _is_ underage" the pig-man said.

"Am not, not by the rules of Great Britain" she said. "I was born seventeen years ago on the 19th of June"

"But you _are_ underage by the Romanian rules" Bulla said with a grin that looked really, really nasty.

"Lucky that I'm in Great Britain then, no?" she replied with a small victorious smile.

"But you are still a Romanian citizen" Bulla said with a voice of doom that made them all feel something bad would happen soon. "Therefore, you are judged by _Romanian_ laws"

Amala remained a bit open-mouthed but Snape said quickly:

"Then she should be judged by a Romanian court, shouldn't she?" he asked with a smirk.

"But since I'm not accused, but you are, Severus" Amala said slowly, "_you_ should be judged by the laws of Great Britain"

"Which have nothing against what is going on" he concluded with a smirk towards Bulla. "Therefore, your whole theory falls"

"But the hurt one in this case is Wright!" Bulla said, his small eyes full of hatred.

"I'm not hurt" she said with a shrug. "And I've got no intentions of pressing charges against anyone in the near future. And as for the Romanian embassy, they showed no interest whatsoever in this problem. So, there's no problem"

Bulla was staring at her. Apparently, so much thinking had made him lose track of everything.

"There is a problem" he said and growled in what everybody supposed that he thought was a menacing growl, but which sounded like a dying pig.

"The problem is?" Snape asked in his cold, silk voice.

"I will tell you" he said and turned back towards the fireplace, lit it, threw some flew powder inside and said "the Ministry!" in a booming voice.

The ones left behind stared after him and Draco started laughing.

"What an idiot!" he said. "Well, I'm sorry for you Professor, Amala, it seems like everything started yet again"

"We'll cope" she said with a warm smile. "I just wonder how long it'll be until my parents find out, I haven't told them a thing. Apparition is a wonderful thing, saved me the trouble of telling my parents that I had to go to a courtroom in England."

"You haven't told them?" Snape asked, surprised.

"Well, I liked the place my head is, Severus, I wouldn't want it to be at my legs' level, you know" she said with a small smirk. "So no, they've got no clue. I just thought I wait 'til I'm 18 to tell them, just in case they jump on my head and tell me I'm underage and should listen to them and dump you since you're a Death Eater and quit Hogwarts so you wouldn't kill me seeking for revenge"

They all looked at her as if she'd grown another head.

"But everybody knows Snape is a spy!" Ron nearly cried out.

"Tell that to my parents" she said with a week smile. "They found out he was at Hogwarts in spring, asked me if he'd killed or hurt anybody. I sad no, Umbridge already took care of that, as I could see"

They chuckled at that.

"So, they wouldn't take it easily" Snape commented.

"No, I have more chances in teaching the Whopping Willow how to drink tea politely than getting out of this without the tell-off of my life" she replied. "And then I'd probably have more problems than I could ever carry... And you'd have to conjure your food and drink, God knows where they'd put the poison"

Severus snorted.

"I have some antidotes, thank you" he said.

"So, I really, really hope that news doesn't reach them. But I don't think it will" she said slowly. "They're really away from the world... And if they happen to find out, you're a powerful enough wizard to save yourself and maybe even get me out of the underground prison they may throw me in"

"Aren't we a bit fatalistic?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You haven't seen my mum's temper" she whispered. "She's really, really frightening when she goes off. And my dad's not very behind either"

"Ow" Snape winced sympathetically. "How do you manage?"

"My aunt, Mona, she's great" the girl replied. "I love her. She's wonderful, understanding, very mature and indeed someone I can talk to. She's my godmother, also"

Snape smiled warmly at her, but remembering where he was, he turned towards Ron.

"Weasley, you don't want your wand broken again, would you? No? Then stop eating with your mouth open or I'll give it to you to chew it!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-

Molly Weasley was most surprised when, while getting some things from her house, a man entered the kitchen. In her fright, she nearly Apparated away before she recognized him to be one of her husband's work colleagues.

"Bulla. How nice to see you" she said slowly, measuring her every word. Actually, she was not happy to see him. She was most displeased, in fact. She hated him.

"I have been informed that Mrs. Wright lives here" he said full of hatred.

"Oh, she doesn't live here" she replied.

"Then, where does she live?" the man asked with a grimace.

"She stays now at Snape Manor" she replied slowly. "Why, may I ask?"

"What?! Snape Manor?!" the man bellowed. "Snape has been warned! He will spend the rest of his days in Azkaban. Why, the nerve, keeping her at his home over the summer, he should..."

"She just went there yesterday at lunch" Molly said with a frown. "Surely it is not a thing to blame to stay at another's house for a few months, is it?"

"Can I use your Floo?" the man asked, without taking any notice in her reply.

"No, but I doubt it matters" she replied as she watched the man pick out a bag of Floo powder, lighting the fireplace and throwing some Powder into it.

"Snape Manor!" he cried and disappeared from view.

"Why, the nerve" she muttered and put some of her own Floo Powder in the fire. "Albus Dumbledore!"

Then, she put her head in the fire and ended up in his office in Hogwarts,

"Albus, Amala and Snape have trouble" she said and the Headmaster, who had been reading a magazine jumped up. "It's the Ministry, they've sent Mortimer Bulla to her, I don't know why, he didn't tell. He's in Snape Manor now"

"Snape Manor?!" Albus said, raising his eyebrow. "But how can he get in there? The place is securely warded against any type of entry!"

"But Amala went there yesterday... Through the Floo, I think" Molly said, her eyes widening. "One of us must go there and check..."

They were both interrupted though, by a voice that came from the wall.

"I daresay, what a nice little chit-chat" Phineas Nigellus said with laughter in his voice from his place in his portrait. "But I hate to be disappointing you both, everything is safe"

"How do you know?" Molly shot. "Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the children might be in a great deal of trouble if nothing is done-and quick!"

Phineas just snorted, looking calmly at the two worried wizards.

"Really now, do you think I would speak just like that? I'm very sure that everything is fine, fine indeed"

"How would you know?" Molly asked again.

"Because a little straw came and told me" the former Headmaster sneered at her. "And we trust straws, don't we?"

"Yes, we do" a red-nosed man sitting on a throne said slowly. "Trust us, Albus, Mrs. Weasley, everything is alright"

Albus regarded the portraits through his half-moon glasses, shook his head and turned to Molly.

"If they say all is fine, then all is fine" he said slowly. "Although I think it would be better if I found out how you know"

"You'll find out when you're a painting" Phineas said and laughed. "Now, calm down. Everything in Snape Manor's defence is alright. However, I cannot say the same about the couple's problems. They might have trouble."

Molly just sighed.

"I hope everything will be alright" she said.

"No promises of that" Phineas said with a nasty smile, earning himself a glare.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Sirius held Iris tightly in his arms. She was one of the greatest women he'd ever met. And he never forgot to mention that to her. Her reward was overwhelming.

But right now, she was asleep in his arms and who was he to wake her up? He smiled and let himself relax even more when somebody opened the door and poked their head through it.

"Sirius? Can I have a word with you?" said the young woman.

"Sure, Tonks" he replied in a whisper and nearly got up from the bed. Then, he changed his mind. "See you outside, ok?"

Tonks nodded slowly and close the door. Sirius smiled to himself, got up and put some clothes on himself. It wouldn't do to walk around through the house wearing only Adam's suit, would it?

He exited his room and ended up face to face with his cousin.

"Listen, Siri" she said. "There's a weird creature in one of the drawers in the attic... Come with me, if it takes me down, you can at least go get some help, what do you say?"

"Well, Remus is the expert at house debugging" he said. "Or rather, at Defence Against the Dark Arts, not that it wouldn't be the same thing"

Tonks laughed.

"Well, come on! Let's get him"

They somehow managed to get Remus out of his bed –while earning a lot of growling from him- and into the attic and soon they were fighting the small but vicious creature off.

"What is it?" Sirius asked after they'd managed to hit it on the head with a levitated book.

"I have no clue" Remus replied. "Let's see what it was 'guarding' at least, shall we?"

The other two nodded and headed towards the drawer. Sirius was the one to finally open it and found that the only thing left there were a few papers and a small painting.

"What papers are those?" Tonks asked curiously.

"Some old bills" Sirius replied. "Huh, wonder where they came from. I never thought that my parents _ever_ paid bills"

Remus however was centered on the painting. It was a Muggle-type painting of Dumbledore's office, although it seemed to have other things in it than the Headmaster kept. The two men and two women in it were standing in front of the desk, one of the men leaning on it.

"By the Gods" Remus said slowly and the other two looked at the painting.

"What is it?" Sirius and Tonks asked.

"It's... I think it's..." Tonks continued.

"The Four Founders" Remus murmured. "I remember seeing once a picture of Gryffindor's great grandson and of Salazar's great granddaughter. Gryffindor's great grandson looked a lot like this guy here, the one that's leaning on the desk. And look, the sword!"

The three just stared.

"Well, then, this is Slytherin" Sirius said slowly. "Look at him, he actually seems normal here."

"This is Ravenclaw, she looks bright" Tonks said with a smile. "And that must be Hufflepuff"

"I've never heard of pictures of them before" Remus muttered. "They're all supposed to be lost, destroyed and so on."

"Ah, well, seems like Siri has one. Family legacy, no?" Tonks smiled.

"Must be" Sirius replied. "But as you can easily see, my family never had any respect for the old."

"Let's take it down, maybe restore it to natural size, this seems to be shrunk" Remus proposed and the other two accepted.

As they went downstairs, they had no clue that in the picture was a fifth person, only eyes visible, right next to the Sorting Hat which then looked new.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Ok..." Amala said slowly as she regarded the potion with doubt. "Are you sure this will work?"

"No" Severus replied casually. "But I'm sure it's not poisonous."

"Then why don't you try it?" she asked, handing him the vial.

"Because I need to observe what is wrong. And if you get stuck in your animal shape, I can undo you, but the same cannot be said if I get stuck like that."

"Groovy" she said sourly. "Okay, here we go!"

She gulped the vial and handed it to Severus. She was just about to ask why nothing had happened when her body started morphing. Then, in her place, was a beautiful white dove.

"Wow" Severus said appreciatively. "Nice shape"

The dove tried it wings and then gave a little jump. However, it did not manage to fly. With a small hoot of displeasure, it tried again. And again. And again.

"It needs to be learnt, it does not come naturally... Or at least, not that naturally" Severus said and the dove gave him a small look which he could not decipher.

It tried to fly for another four minutes before it turned back into Amala.

"Well, that was fun" she said with a huge grin. "Although it would have been much more fun if I could fly!"

Severus chuckled.

"Me next" he said and took his potion.

"It tastes like shit!" she warned just as he gulped. "Ah, well, too late"

He turned into a beautiful black hawk and shook his head. Then, he looked back at her and stretched its wings.

"It doesn't come _that_ naturally" she reminded him with a smirk. But, apparently, it did to him, she realized as the hawk previously known as her boyfriend flapped its wings a few times before flying low for a few seconds. "That is so not fair" she said with a pout.

When he came back to his normal shape, he started laughing at her pouts.

"We have nice shapes, though" she said with a smile and kissed him. "We should become Aimagi"

"I completely agree" Severus replied. "And we must not register. It will be more Slytherin that way"

She just laughed.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"_Dear Mr. Snape, _

_We have received intelligence that Mrs. Wright is currently residing at your Manor, despite the warnings we have given you. Both she and you will be under constant surveillance by the Ministry and you will have to present yourselves at 10 A.M. on Friday for a questioning._

_Yours truly, _

_Mortimer Bulla" _

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"This is not fair, Severus" Amala said as they went down with the elevator towards the level where they had to get to.

"I know" he replied and put a hand around her shoulders, earning himself a few glares from the ones they shared the elevator with. While their problem was not in the papers, it was still quite famous in Hogwarts and through the Ministry. He simply glared in reply.

They stopped and went through the doors, going to the small room where the 'questioning' would be. As Severus opened the door and let her glide through, they could both see the few wizards gathered there. It was a small cozy room with most of the chairs assembled on one side of the room and two chairs right in front of them.

"All for us? How nice" Amala heard Severus mutter and snorted quietly. She didn't dare reply, just in case the other people in the room heard. Which was not exactly the best idea in the world.

"Good day" she said instead, loudly and clearly.

"Good day" Severus said, right behind her.

"Good day indeed" Mortimer Bella snorted from his place. "It's the day you go down, Snape"

"Shush, you" a forbidding looking woman said.

"That's Amelia Susan Bones, great aunt of the Susan Bones at Hogwarts" Severus whispered towards his girlfriend.

"See?!" Bella boomed. "He's already whispering towards her some commands she must follow!"

"Pardon?!" Amala said, looking at him with a confused look on her face.

"See? See how she's faking?!" Bella started saying, but Mrs. Bones stopped him.

"I hardly doubt it" she said, taking a look at the two. "What did he say to you, my girl?"

"Um... That you were Amelia Susan Bones, great aunt of the Susan Bones at Hogwarts" Amala said with a shy smile. One of the men there started laughing but disguised it as a cough.

"Anything funny, Mr. Jordan?" Bella snapped.

"No, no" he said, shaking his head.

"Very well, then" Mrs. Bones said. "You two, sit on those two chairs"

The two nodded and sat down. Was it just them, or were most of them not very interested in what was going on? They seemed quite absentminded.

"So, we will start with asking Mr. Jordan a few questions to check some facts and then we'll see" Mrs. Bones said and frowned. "Mr. Jordan, if you please..."

The young man who had laughed got up and walked right next to Amala.

"Is it true that you have been a student of Hogwarts until one year ago?" Mrs. Bones asked.

"Yes, madam" he replied.

"What House were you in?" Bella asked quickly.

"Gryffindor, sir" he replied.

"What has that got to do with anything, Mr. Bella?" Mrs. Bones asked with a frown.

"Slytherins usually cover up their tracks for each other" the pig-looking man replied.

"It has no importance whatsoever" Mrs. Bones replied with a glare towards the man. "Very well, then. Mr. Jordan, do you recall Mr. Snape ever have an affair with a student?"

"No, I never heard of anything of the sort" he replied.

"About having any type of relationship?" she continued.

"No, never heard of anything of the sort" he repeated.

"Has he ever proposed anything to any student?" she asked in a somewhat more delicate manner.

"No, never" he replied truthfully.

"How do you know that it didn't happen in other classes?" Mrs. Bones asked.

"It would have been all over the school if he'd have done that... Hogwarts is not the place for keeping secrets" he replied.

"Perhaps he had a secret lover you didn't know of" Bella jumped.

"Maybe, but I doubt it" Jordan replied, looking straight at Bella. Severus wondered idly if the boy doubted it because Hogwarts was 'not the place for keeping secrets' or because he was too evil to ever have a lover.

"Mr. Bella, who does the questioning here?" Mrs. Bones asked, clearly having her patience tried. "Shall we proceed? Good. Mr. Jordan, you left right before Mrs. Wright went to Hogwarts. How do you find this relationship?"

"Odd" he replied in a very truthful manner. "I never imagined a student would get close to Professor Snape in their private time even if they had to choose between painful death and asking him for a potion"

Amala let out a snort of laughter and Jordan looked towards the glaring Potion Master and gulped.

"It is a pity I cannot take points from Gryffindor because of you anymore" he said in his deadliest silky voice.

Some of the audience dared chuckle. Apparently they knew Snape.

"Very well, thank you" Mrs. Bones said and Jordan went back to his place. "Now, Mrs. Wright. As we have just heard, Mr. Snape is not one of the most desirable Professors. What made you do what you did?"

"I liked him" she said with a small smile. "And I needed to know if there was any possibility of him liking me back."

Mrs. Bones smiled a little and opened her mouth to start speaking again before Bella shot another one of his questions.

"What exactly did you do to capture his attention?" he asked.

"I got myself a detention with him, madam" she replied.

"How did you do that?" Bella asked and Mrs. Bones glared, ready to kill him.

"At my former school, one of my colleagues blew up her potion by wrongly combining two potion ingredients. I decided to do that and literally blew up my assignment" she replied.

"As I heard, you have pretty high grades in Potions" Mrs. Bones said, looking suspiciously at the girl.

"I always did, it's one of my favorite subjects" she replied with a smile. "And as you can see, I had some of the highest grades at Potions at the beginning of the year... Well, that was before I blew up my potion. Then I got a really bad grade."

"You're insane" Jordan shot from his seat. "Blowing up the classroom..."

"Yeah, that's what everybody said" she replied with a smile. "Well, everybody who I told about my purpose, that is"

"Under Veritaserum, you said that you had some pretty bad times at the beginning" Mrs. Bones said. "Explain"

"Well, he wasn't the nicest person around" she said with a small smile. "It was bad at first. I was walking on eggshells."

"Has he ever hurt you?" Mrs. Bones asked. "Meaning to, I mean?"

Amala lowered her eyes a little.

"Yes" she said and the room tensed instantly. "Once"

"Did he hit you?" Mrs. Bones asked.

"No" she replied, looking back at her. "He never hit me"

"What did he do, then?" Mrs. Bones continued.

"He... made me keep my hand in a jar of pain-inflicting alive creatures" she replied and heard a low murmur. "But it happened at the beginning, it was about something I'd done, or rather, he'd thought I'd done! He never hurt me again and for awhile, he's been really careful and nice and gentle" she said. "He would never hurt me again, now he knows me. He knows who I am!"

"Once he hurt you, he may always do so" Mrs. Bones said with gentleness towards her, though she glared at Severus.

"No, no..." Amala said, shaking her head. "Then, it was a huge confusion, it seemed as if I were, pardon the expression, trying to screw him up, make fun of him"

"Who isn't trying to?" she heard a small mutter. Jordan, no doubt. Severus glared in his direction.

"If he ever has the same feeling again, he might do it again" Mrs. Bones said sternly.

"No" Amala said truthfully. "I mean, I know how he was then towards me, I know how he is now. Then, he was distrustful, disbelieving, cold and he somehow gave me enough credit to give me a shot. And then, when I seemed to be somebody worth of trust, something happened and I seemed against him. Normally, he wasn't pleased, he thought I'd told the whole school about God knows what and wanted to make sure that nobody ever dared do that again and..."

"Amala" Severus said softly. "It was truly a dumb move from my side, don't act as if it were a normal reaction"

"Aha! Aha!" Bella cried. "Did you hear that?! He's advising her to say it was a one time thing, that it wasn't normal! Well, then, it might be!"

"Sit down, Mr. Bella" Mrs. Bones said through clenched teeth. "Mr. Snape, what had happened on that particular occasion?"

"After gaining my trust, I heard her specifically calling me a 'greasy git' in front of students, calling me _her_ greasy git" he said with a sneer. "I mistook the irony in her voice for irony against me. I thought she meant that she had me in a leash"

Amala snorted shortly.

"Yes, well, instead I was joking at his usual nickname with a tad of fondness" she replied. "But it all solved out soon."

"Very well, then" Mrs. Bones said disbelievingly. "Now, you both know that according to the rules of Great Britain, your relationship is, as much as I hate to say it, legally alright"

Amala smiled sadly at that.

"But Mrs. Wright is a Romanian citizen" Mrs. Bones continued. "So, she is underage. And any sexual relationship with Mr. Snape is therefore forbidden by law, if not approved by Mrs. Wright's parents or legal guardian."

"I'm not only a Romanian citizen, though" Amala said with a smile. "I have dual citizenship, both Romanian and British, as do both my parents. Therefore, since I am in Great Britain, I should be judged by British rules"

The room gaped and Severus said with a glare towards her in his seat:

"Now, why didn't you mention that _before_?!"

"Hey, don't cut my head off yet!" Amala said with a small roll of her eyes. "You'd have had trouble with the laws before, no matter my citizenship. And only now was it even remotely important, don't you think?"

Severus just rolled his eyes. It didn't make any sense to him.

"He's going to kill you" Jordan pointed out to her. She just looked at Severus for a few seconds before turning back to Jordan.

"Nah" she said. "I'll be fine"

"You... are a British citizen?" Mrs. Bones said slowly.

"Yes" she replied with a small smile. "So... Are we alright?"

"There's nothing we can do" the elder woman replied. "Alright then, I guess we are finished"

She got up from the chair and started packing her things.

"Dual citizenship? You _couldn't _have mentioned it before?" Severus asked his girlfriend.

"I'd forgot" she said sheepishly.

"Forgot?!" he said. "It would have speared us so much trouble..."

"No kidding" she replied. "But I only remembered when they started talking about me being Romanian... It was nagging at the back of my head. My parents told me that the three of us all had dual citizenship a long, long time ago, when I didn't even completely understand what the fuss was all about"

"So, your mother was Romanian and your father British" Severus said with a small sigh. "And you want to rewrite family history, so you find anybody who's from here and want to marry him and gain him dual citizenship and have a girl, get her dual citizenship..."

She didn't verbally reply, but she yanked him playfully on the arm. One of the women in the room watched them with amused eyes while Mrs. Bones and the rest looked rather stern and disbelieving.

Just as the first few left the room, however, Fudge came through the door.

"YOU!" he cried towards Severus. "You have returned to your Lord, haven't you?! And you've dragged _her_ with you, haven't you?"

"I beg your pardon?" the Potion Master said, raising an eyebrow.

"It has come to my attention that Mrs. Wright has been in the Department of Mysteries, this fall!" Fudge said, shaking slightly. "Have you got her to do it, Snape?!"

"What?" he asked, a bit taken aback.

"Has your Lord told you to send her for anything in the Department?!" Fudge asked. "Has he?! Has he?!"

"No" Severus replied in a dangerous growl. "He knows I betrayed him and he is after me"

"I believe no such thing" Fudge replied and motioned to two Aurors who were right behind him: "Get him"

"What?!" Amala cried and watched as Severus was dragged away. "What are you doing?!"

"Taking him away" Fudge snapped. "And now, now you are safe from him, he can't send you after anything for his Master! You're safe"

"But he never sent me in the Department!" she cried.

"You were there this fall, weren't you? How did you get there?"

"I... I..." she stuttered. Apparating was not a good excuse. "By portkey"

"Really? Why?" Fudge sneered.

"Um... Um..." she said, lacking ideas. "Because I..."

"You have no excuse!" Fudge said victoriously. "And even if you did, you are not capable of making your own portkey, are you? Besides, none was activated then! Go back home and be happy to get away from him"

An Auror took her away and showed her off to a fireplace. He gently tossed some Floo Powder in it and before she knew it, Amala was back at the Manor.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"And... and it's all my fault" Amala sobbed on Harry's shoulder.

Everybody who was sheltered at Number 12 and in Snape Manor had gathered there and Dumbledore wasn't missing either.

"How can it be your fault?" Sirius asked slowly.

"If I hadn't... if I hadn't... if we weren't together, they would find no blame" she replied.

"They'd always find blame on Snape" Sirius said, rolling his eyes slightly. "After all, they have what to find"

Amala glared at the Animagus and Remus decided to pop in.

"Sirius is right" he said slowly. "Severus has a rather unpleasant past and they would be able to find something to lock him up in case they want to"

"Yeah" Colt said and nuzzled Amala with his snout. "Now, don't you worry, we'll find a way to get him back soon."

"I don't think so, Fudge is a complete rat!" she snapped.

"I guess he is" Colt said with a small shake of his head. "But we'll find a way to convince him to let Severus go"

"What way?" she asked between sobs. "I can't argue my being there! Saying I rescued Sirius from the Veil sounds like a really big lie and not a good one in fact"

"We'll find a way" Remus soothed her. "We will"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Voldemort laughed darkly while watching the scenes in his follower's Pensieve.

"Well done, well done, my servant" he said. "And let this teach all what happens to those who betray me! Now, on to my plan... Potter shall fall and he will do so from inside"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Child of mine, never fear while I am with you" came a whisper in the darkness and he felt the coldness from the Dementors fade slowly. "I will guard you, I will take you away from here... Be patient. You must be patient. Your love will be patient. Don't fear. I am with you"

Severus fell asleep on the stone floor, the coldness from the Dementors fading.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

AN: Finished another chapter. You know, I'm starting to really like this story ;-) Also, a small reminder: don't forget to review!

Responses to reviews:

Inu-kokoro: I'm glad I had perfect timing with my chapter and ugh... that strep throat test sounds nasty. As for the psychiatrist/psychologist thing... Yep. Corrected it. Thanks! And if you perfect the slippery tongue-twister, send it to me! huge grin

Tsuetsu: Thanks! And every time I read your review, my pervert mind wanders off to dirty things. When will Amala let Snapey in... Interesting mental image. Ok, now I'll pretend I said nothing and that I'm a perfectly normal and even remotely innocent girl here. Well, they have a problem right about now, but... One day... Perhaps in a week... Perhaps sooner... Perhaps in three months... Perhaps he gets killed so never... ;-) You'll just have to wait and see.

Skillz: Thanks! I rather enjoyed writing the last part myself...

Alcapacien: Thanks for your review... And looks around carefully and whispers Don't tell anyone lowers head But Remus/Colt interactions are to come soon.

GamingGuy84: Thanks. Sorry this chapter was all about the relationship –I tried to put more in it, I swear! It just didn't well... fit here. Darn. Oh, well, you'll forgive me, won't ya?- And next chapter we'll, well, we'll find out some very interesting things... ;-)

Marauder#3: I'm quite fond of them, too! Oh, I feel like I could just kill Fudge for what he did to them! blink, blink Wait a second... I'm the one who writes this... wicked grin I _can_ kill him! Mwahahahahahaha evil laughter while walking away, plotting the death of Minister of Magic


	5. Help From Above, Panic From Below

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**Author's Note**: I've got myself a livejournal! Hip, hip hurrah! And I promise to keep it updated and tell you about the work I get on my stories! huge grin

Link to my 

Chapter 5: Help From Above, Panic From Below

The young woman sighed, lowering her dagger.

"Mayhowl" she said slowly. "What are you doing here, old friend?"

The wolf in front of her turned into a human being and took a peak at the trees all around them. The Forest of Wolves was safe, as safe as it would ever be... After all, he was the Lord of Wolves and Werewolves and could control his subjects. Even dogs recognized him as being nobility.

Of course, 'safe' was a rather relative term, since for the enemy of the animals, it was worse than the worst nightmare. Yes, Mayhowl had spies, scouts and guards everywhere.

"Patrolling" he replied softly. "The same with you, isn't it?"

"You've got it" she replied, sitting down next to a tree. "The kids they are here, in Snape Manor"

"I know" Mayhowl replied. "That's why everything is so secured... But it is only secured against Death Eaters. Have you heard that Snape has been taken away today?"

"What?!" she cried.

"Yes, by the Ministry" Mayhowl said. "The Minister said that he had somehow convinced Amala to go in the Department of Mysteries. He is now in a cell in a prison, surrounded by Dementors"

"He'll be nuts before he gets out" she said, slightly shaking. "They'll drag it as long as they can, they'll make sure that even him, as strong as he is, will have fallen!"

"There is one thing that I was always told, when I was little" Mayhowl said slowly. "'Trust the Ones who are much wiser. They shall find a way'. Do not worry, there will be a way to be found"

"Who will find it?!" she asked. "Who, tell me!"

"You have no faith" Mayhowl said with a small chuckle. "Have faith, Demonheart. Have faith"

"Fine..." she mumbled. "I will"

She sat back down to watch the trees and Mayhowl shook his head before running off through the forests in his wolf shape. Being a Homomagus was great help, it wouldn't do to always be a wolf, no?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Where is the Minister?" Dumbledore asked the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister.

"He left a short time ago with some business" the man replied. "He said he would return in about one hour"

"Where is he, exactly?" the old wise man asked.

"I don't know" came the reply. Dumbledore sighed.

"I shall wait for him in his office then" he said and went through the doors.

The Minister's office was changed from the way it had been six years before, when Fudge had been elected. It was much tidier and the many papers that had once been all over the desk were now in neat piles. Come to think about it, the Minister had changed. He had become a completely against them person two years before, then, one year ago, he had admitted to being somewhat wrong. And he had changed again. And right now, here it was: somewhat sneaky and politic-knowing Fudge.

Something had to be wrong. He just couldn't put a finger on it. He waited and waited and waited for Fudge to enter the office. He eventually started reading his "how to keep your robes in perfect shape" brochure. After awhile, he also took out his bag of lemon drops and started munching on them.

He just reached a very interesting part of his reading –one involving the perfect method of ironing the sleeves- when the Minister popped up.

"Hello, Cornelius" Dumbledore pleasantly said, closing his brochure. He'd find out about ironing sleeves some other time.

"Dumbledore!" Fudge said, jumping slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"You have thrown an innocent man to jail, Cornelius, you made a mistake" Dumbledore said in the most pleasant way he could say it.

"Innocent?! But he sent that... that girl that calls herself his girlfriend into the Department of Mysteries, where the Veil is!" Fudge said, his eyes glazing.

"How do you know that?" Dumbledore asked. "I had been wondering..."

For a second, the old Headmaster could see something close to surprise and fear in those eyes. Before they turned into a frown.

"There were magical traces of somebody getting in and out of there sometime in fall" he said. "You know we have some wards there!"

"How come you didn't realize there was a trespasser before, Cornelius?" Dumbledore continued his questioning. "I must say, if it would have been me, I'd have verified everything immediately."

"We weren't sure that it was somebody" Fudge replied with a small frown. "We could tell somebody had left with the girl, they went up through the corridors, we weren't sure if it hadn't been one of our own who had went there. Then, we checked and realized that Mrs. Wright had went in and she and somebody else went out"

"How far did you follow their trace?" Dumbledore asked slowly.

"Up to the Fountain in the Atrium" Fudge replied. "That's where they disappeared. We lost their trace, too many magical signatures"

"I see" Dumbledore said. "Very well then. I ask you again to let Severus Snape go"

"And one more time: no. That would be a complete madness!" Fudge said.

"Then, I am afraid, we have no more to discuss now" Dumbledore said, blue eyes boring into Fudge.

"Indeed, there is nothing to discuss" Fudge agreed.

Dumbledore simply turned on his heels and went out through the door.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The Order of the Phoenix –plus the refugees from both Number 12 and Snape Manor- were in a dining room in said Snape Manor. A few tables had been conjured and everybody was there: after all, the matter concerned them all.

Dumbledore sighed as he thought of what he would do next. He gathered his forces and stood up, requiring silence by simple presence.

"I am afraid to say that today I went to visit the Minister on the matter concerning Severus Snape" he started. "And I found out that they had warded everything and that Amala's entrance in the Department did not go unnoticed. He said that the only reason for which they had not done anything sooner was because one trace could be found going in the Department and _two _were found going out of it."

"What?!" Amala said with a frown. "I went there for quite a lot of times before I actually got Sirius. They should have felt me before. And what do they mean, two traces going out?! Sirius and I left by portkey"

"Exactly what crossed my mind, Mrs. Wright. Also, I must say that I know the Ministry's wards and none were put for signaling people going in and out... And I also was there on that night. I went in and out" Dumbledore said. "There would have been two entering and three exiting, even then"

"But there _had_ to be a fourth person" Amala said. "There also was Professor Towers there, he's the one that got us out of there"

"Yes, and that would have made two or three tracks in, one track out" Sirius said with a frown. "That story does _not_ match up"

"Exactly my thoughts" Dumbledore said gravely. "I have thought of the reasons behind the act of capturing Severus. The Cornelius Fudge I knew would have only captured Severus if he had been sure that he was guilty, though he would judge on feeling rather than on thought. Of course, the Fudge I met now was much more organized than the one I knew... He was also sure that Severus was evil against doubt, but he wasn't panicked or afraid, as I expected he would. He wasn't even mindlessly enraged. Someone is behind him, steering him wrong."

"One of his advisers is a Death Eater" they all heard a voice and Colt jumped on the table, landing remarkably light and soundless on the table, considering that he was a marble wolf. They all realized he was the one that had spoken.

"I trust it is so..." Dumbledore said with a small sigh. "Alas, they are so good at hiding themselves, I cannot tell who they are"

"We could all see it in the Barty Crouch incident" Draco said with a roll of his eyes. "Basically, the greatest supporter the Dark Lord ever had was teaching at school"

"And don't forget first year" Harry shot from across the table to Draco. "Quirrell had Voldemort attached to the back of his head and nobody realized it was so for a whole year"

"Is that true?!" Mr. Evans asked, shooting up.

"Yes, it is" Remus said grimly. "The Defence Against the Dark Arts position was always a troubled one"

"You mean, Death Eaters and dark wizards _taught_ there?!" Mrs. Evans asked, her eyes growing large. "Next thing you tell us, dark creatures roam the castle, maybe even _teach_, too!"

There was a dead silence for about a half a minute before Remus raised his head and smiled a bit disturbed.

"There _was_ a werewolf who taught Defence Against the Dark Arts"

"What?!" Mrs. Evans cried. "When?!"

"Four years ago" Remus replied in a quiet voice. "You're talking to him now"

Both Evans just gaped, not truly comprehending. Finally, Mr. Evans said slowly:

"You're a werewolf."

"Yes" Remus agreed slowly.

"That is it!" Mrs. Evans said, tears in her eyes. "Mark is never going back to that school! First, weird teachers that are dark creatures or wizards, attacks upon the school, being captured by dark wizards! No, it is all finished, we're moving in the US, where my brother lives!"

"No, really, it's quite safe" Hermione said slowly. "None of the Death Eaters who taught us did us any harm, they didn't want to blow their cover and Professor Lupin takes a potion to prevent him from being dangerous at the full moon. And besides, no permanent injury has happened there as far as I know and nobody got killed for fifty years!"

"What?!" she cried. "Killed?!"

"It was when Voldemort learnt at Hogwarts as a student" Hermione said, suddenly understanding her grave mistake.

"He _learnt_ at Hogwarts? Really?!" Mrs. Evans said. "That's it. Come on, Mark. We're going to my brother, he'll be more than happy to have us and we'll find you a nice school there, a nice _normal_ school and you'll grow up to be a doctor, like you always wanted"

"No, mum..." the young boy said, shaking his head. "I want to be a wizard!"

"You can't be a wizard, it's too dangerous!" she cried.

"You are or aren't a wizard from birth, it's not as if you have a choice!" Hermione pointed out. "And ignoring danger doesn't mean causing it to cease in existence!"

"Well, at least he won't end up kidnapped by Death Eaters and he will not end up in any relationship with his _teachers_!" she said and most people in the room winced. Amala did so with quite a lot of heart. "You must understand, we do not belong here, we are what you call Muggles. He might be a wizard, but he's too young to face all the horrors in your world. Perhaps later, he will train himself so he can use his gifts, but now it is too dangerous to do so. I am sorry"

"Mum!" Mark cried.

"You have no say in this" his father informed him. "We should go. We had spoken to my wife's brother ever since this started. He said that sure, anytime we want, we can live at his place. It is time we leave"

"But... his training! His future!" McGonagall reasoned.

"He has a future in the Muggle world" Mrs. Evans said. "Come on, Mark. Let's go"

"And where do you intend on going?" Draco asked with a smirk. "We're in the middle of nowhere"

"Mr. Malfoy" McGonagall said sternly and the boy sighed.

"I am sorry about your decision" Dumbledore said, indeed seeming to be sorry. "I will help you get to your brother. I must say that I was expecting this, though"

Draco rolled his eyes and even though everybody had seen it, nobody said anything.

Dumbledore took out a piece of parchment from his robes and turned it into a portkey.

"I saw where your brother was, Madam" he said quietly. "I created a portkey to take you there. If at any time you regret your decision and wish for your son to come back to Hogwarts, there is a wizard in the city where your brother lives. He can send me a letter. Here is his address"

The old Headmaster handed them a piece of paper and smiled sadly at them.

"Thank you, sir" Mr. Evans said.

They took the portkey from Dumbledore and disappeared from view.

"How can you let them go just like that?" McGonagall asked, outraged.

"The Evans told me about their idea since we first met at Number 12. They weren't sure what to do. I asked them to give us a chance and they did" Dumbledore replied with a feeble smile. "It appears that they have decided now"

"This will not look good, Professor" Draco said. "In fact, it will look really bad"

"I know" Dumbledore said sadly. "I know."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Sirius?" Amala said, walking towards the man in front of the fireplace.

"Yes?" he asked, paying attention on her, but not looking at her since his eyes had somehow gotten stuck on the fireplace.

"I know you're not exactly a friend of Severus" she said slowly.

"Not exactly a friend is somewhat an understatement" he said with a smile, still staring at the fireplace.

"Ah, yes..." she said slowly. "But you fight on the same side"

"I guess we do" Sirius said, finally tearing his eyes away from the fireplace and looking at her. "Sit down, don't be shy"

Amala smiled feebly and sat down on an armchair on Sirius's right.

"We should do something for him. And you heard what Dumbledore said: Fudge's been acting weird lately. Perhaps there is something wrong with him... How can we tell?"

"What is your point?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow towards her.

"Well, I know a very talented man, he's an Animagus, you see" she said with a small smile. "He can walk around with lots of precaution, since he was once wanted by the Ministry"

"No" Sirius said shortly and definitely.

"You haven't listened to everything I had to say..." Amala said with a small smile.

"I know enough of it now to say: no" Sirius said seriously. "I cannot possibly sneak up in the Ministry in dog shape and check up what Fudge is doing"

"Oh, bother" Amala said, rolling her eyes slightly. "That's not what I wanted. See if you don't listen?"

"Then what _did_ you want?" he asked curiously.

"Well, somebody has to know where Fudge lives" she said with a small smile. "And I just happen to have one Invisibility Cloak. All I needed was somebody... somebody brave and quiet enough to go there, somebody who would have a plus in case something bad happened"

"You're telling me to go and spy on Fudge in his home?!" Sirius asked, shocked. "I thought you were much more..."

"Severus has rubbed off one me" she said with a small shrug and a wicked grin. "Besides, I sneaked in the Department of Mysteries all on my own, remember?"

"Oh, Lord..." Sirius said, mock desperate. "Very well, I'll find out where he lives. And where did you get an Invisibility Cloak from?" he asked frowning.

"My aunt" Amala replied. "A goodbye gift, she said it'd help me in Hogwarts. It helped me. Not in Hogwarts, but it did. I used it to get to the Department. I only used it then, though. "

"Do you really have no mischievous bones in you, Amala?" Sirius kidded.

"Oh, I do" she said with a roll of her eyes. "I just didn't have too many occasions, you see? But this year I might have a clue as to what to do with it"

"What?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Nothing you might even remotely want to know" she said with a wicked smile. "Now, what do you say? Deal? You do it?"

"Yes" Sirius replied. "Fine"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

A silent shadow went down the streets towards the house of one Cornelius Fudge. Sirius was not very happy about this and he had hoped that any one of the Order would oppose to the idea of him going to the Minister's house.

Of course, nobody had opposed. Yes, they had said it was not a very easy thing to be done, but they had also agreed that Sirius would be perfect for the job.

So, there he was, in the middle of the street, going towards the Minister's residence. It was lucky that he had his home in a mostly Muggle area, so nobody would recognize him later.

He made it to the Minister's block and went up to his apartment, keeping himself as hidden as possible. He wanted to make sure that nobody would recognize him afterwards. He knocked on the door, hoping nobody would reply from inside. And, perfectly, nobody did. Then, Sirius slipped the Invisibility Cloak on and opened the door with one of the special knives that opened every door. He smiled to himself as the door opened slightly and he entered the room.

His first thought was that it smelled as if the air was closed, as if the apartment had been abandoned for years. Cautiously, he closed the door and walked in, half expecting for someone to jump at him from somewhere and try to kill him. As he quietly walked through the house, he noticed that the windows all had curtains on them and that the air was closed... and the house neat. Too neat to be lived in.

A feeling crept inside of his heart then. He felt that something was wrong, something _told_ him it was very, very wrong. Just to check, he turned into his dog shape and sniffed the air.

It felt as if nothing had lived there for years, it smelled like something bad had happened and then something had been done to hide it. Sirius felt himself panic at the stench of the hidden death there and he transformed into his human shape, picked up his Cloak and ran out the door, somehow managed to lock it, even in his panic, and then he Disapparated straight into his home.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Voldemort caressed his wand with a true pleasure... Ah, how many he'd killed and tortured with that one wand...

"Peter!" he cried to the small man. "Bring me Fudge, I need to speak to him..."

The ratty man scattered from in front of his Lord and exited the room. Voldemort smiled. How nice, his pathetic little servant was more of a rat each day. Soon, a body floated in the room, sustained by Peter's wand.

"Hello, Fudge" he said with a malicious little smile. "How do you like my castle so far?"

The broken man was shivering. He was balding, his nails were clipped into his skin, parts of his skin seemed to have been taken away from his body.

"Do you even understand what I speak anymore, Cornelius?" Voldemort asked slowly. "Do you? Answer me!"

At the last cry, Fudge raised his head slowly. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore.

"How convenient that nobody thought I'd be using Polyjuice again to gain my goals, isn't it?" Voldemort said with a small hiss. "Do you know why I brought you here now, Cornelius? To tell you that Dumbledore's petty Order is falling, will fall and all thanks to you."

"Wh-what do you want?" Fudge coughed.

"Oh, look, Wormtail! He still understands and speaks!" Voldemort said with a horrible grimace that was meant to be a smile. "Well, wanted to tell you that Snape, you remember him, right? The one you wanted to give the Order of Merlin to, he's in a jail, guarded by Dementors. And just as I was thinking about his fate and how convenient it would be for one of the Dementors to... accidentally administer him the kiss, I remembered you! You're such a burden nowadays, Cornelius"

The man raised his head, a sick feeling on his face. A sick expression that turned horrified.

"I was thinking of making sure you won't ever try to escape or try to tell your story, Cornelius. There is a great way to do it, you know it, _don't you_, Cornelius?"

"No... no... I'll do anything you want, just don't..." the small man said, shivering.

"Really, will you?" Voldemort said, showing his teeth. "But you see, Cornelius, the problem is, if I threaten you with the Kiss and you say you'd do anything for me not to get it done to you, I wonder..." the Dark Lord said, mock thoughtful "If you won't do it for anyone who threatens you with it. You're just worthless, a burden and so I think I should just make my life easier"

"NO! Please, no!" Fudge said.

"I think yes..." Voldemort said. "Now, where is Lucius, he'll want to see this. After all, he hates you and your life... Ever since I helped him escape from Azkaban, he's literally been in your shoes, Cornelius. He hates you and all the little problems you caused him by being yourself. And Peter wants to watch, don't you Peter? You've been a Minister for awhile, haven't you?"

"Yes, my Lord" Peter said, slightly shaking. "Of course, my Lord"

"Afraid I'll do it to you, aren't you, Wormtail?" Voldemort said with a dark laughter. "Not just yet, no, not just yet, I need you still"

Peter squeaked slightly just as Lucius entered, arranging his robes.

"I am sorry for being late, Sire" he said darkly. "Is it today that it is done?"

"Yes, Lucius... Today is a special day for our precious little ex-Minister. It is his birthday... Let us give him a special gift, shall we?"

Voldemort made a small move with his wand and a side door opened, a Dementor coming in.

"Have a nice meal..." Voldemort said, laughing darkly.

Fudge started shaking harder and harder as the Dementor went towards him, gaining more distance with every moment. He then started yelling like he never did before, fighting against his binds with more power than the three other men in the room thought would have been possible for him.

The Dementor wasn't in a hurry. It slowly took down its hood and, over the screams that Fudge gave out, Voldemort cried:

"Only a few moments of having a soul left, Cornelius! I hope you enjoy them!"

The man didn't hear him and continued to cry out, until the Dementor caught him into a powerful grasp and sucked his soul out his mouth. Then, he fell silent.

"That was enjoyable. Leave" Voldemort said, gesturing towards the Dementor. "Peter, take what is left of Cornelius in a cell... Make sure it's warm and comfortable, we wouldn't want that body to die, would we?"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked the head in his fire. "Are you sure?"

"It smelled like evil, like darkness and the house hadn't been lived in for years!" Sirius replied in near panic. "I tell you, something was wrong, deeply wrong, deadly wrong there!"

"Well then, I shall go talk to Fudge soon" Dumbledore said, a bit thoughtful. "I really should find out why he hasn't lived in his house for all these years"

"You should, Headmaster. And soon" Sirius said. "Farewell"

"Goodbye, Sirius" Albus replied.

Sirius pulled his head back through the fireplace and, after a lot of spinning, he made it back into his kitchen. He felt dizzy and he wanted to sit down. Blasted Floo, couldn't they had made it less dizzying? As he turned from the fireplace, he saw Iris sit on one of the chairs in the kitchen and managed a feeble smile.

"Hey" he said slowly.

"Hey" she replied. "What happened? You look horrible, no offence"

"Fudge hasn't been living in his apartment for years and something bad happened there before that" Sirius gave her the very summarized story. "I really don't like it" he added as an afterthought.

"Come sit down" she said slowly. "We should go ahead and see what is wrong then"

"But how?" Sirius asked, his eyes dark. "We can't just pop in the Minister's office and demand where he's lived for the last few years. Damn. If at least he had a wife or sister or parent or anything."

"Or a bastard daughter" Iris said thoughtfully.

"Pardon?!" Sirius said, maybe a little shocked.

"No, I was thinking about something" she said with a small smile. "Don't mind me. But it really is a shame that he never got really close to anybody."

"He used to be close to people in older days" Sirius said with a small frown. "Then he became too much of a pain in the ass for anybody to still like him"

"I know" she replied. "Maybe he meant it. Well, I've got an idea. How about we drop by his work unexpectedly and stupefy him and get him here for questioning?"

Sirius snorted.

"Oh, yes, and if it turns out he had some great majestic plans that require him to stay hidden, then what do we do? Say 'sorry, we thought something was wrong?'"

"Why not?" Iris said with a shrug. "We could explain it to him later. Listen, I'll get some of the Veritaserum that Severus has in his private stocks and we'll feed the Minister with it and if he turns out to be on the wrong side, well, it's a good idea for a next move and if he's on our side... well, we'll tell him what it's about"

"Yes, and he'll believe us why exactly?" Sirius said.

"He won't have any other choice" Iris replied with a small smile. "Well, let's talk to Dumbledore about it. See if he has any objections..."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Severus woke up on the small bed in the Ministry cell. He saw some Dementors outside, but he couldn't feel their influence... too greatly. He was still cold on the inside and he could remember some very awful scenes of his past, but he wasn't reliving them. He frowned, how come he didn't feel them fully?

But then he remembered the soothing voice... The one that told him all would be alright. It was like a faraway dream, but it was the voice he had heard at some times of need during the past. That voice belonged to Jack Strois. The black, silky voice that spoke in calming tones... He'd promised something.

His cell was dark. He saw it now. He sighed as he looked at the Dementors and he looked towards the dark ceiling. He felt something like pain cross his feelings and he let out a pained question.

"Where are you?" he asked and all the questions remained unanswered over the years poured out of him. "Where are you? Why don't you want me to remember your face? Why don't you show it? What are you afraid of? Why?"

He felt as if his question was answered. He could feel the answer nagging him in the back of his mind.

"Soon..."

Soon what? None of his questions was a 'when', they were 'where' and 'why', always 'why'... But still, the answer was 'soon'... And he felt he knew what the question was. But he also felt that the 'soon' was the end of his rhetorical questions, an end that clearly said he'd had to start thinking practically.

Like thinking about escaping. He'd needed to escape once before... When he himself, as Severus Snape, had lost Voldemort's trust. That damned night, he remembered it so well, when he'd lost his grip on Occulmency and Voldemort had read right through him. It had been the night when he'd witnessed a woman that he knew to be one of Monica's friends killed by the Death Eaters he was with. Voldemort had seen the pity in his mind... Damned be his feelings, they had betrayed him: all the hate for his Master, the betrayal for Dumbledore's cause...

He remembered being dragged down by Lucius right into the cell where he'd thought he'd find his doom... The pain of his limbs after suffering many curses, the fear that Voldemort had somehow seen Monica in his mind. She'd been his only help, his light, his faith, his love... And now, maybe she would be lost...

Oh, how he'd cried in silence all through the night. How he'd seen the shadows moving on the walls... How he'd heard the snakes slithering.

The memories engulfed him, induced by the Dementors, and nothing could save him as he relived the fear of death, the sickness as he thought of Monica's friend being tortured, the fear for his lover's life. Those feelings returned at full force and he somehow got off the bed and his stomach contracted, throwing the remains of his last meal out.

He remembered that woman's face as she was hit again and again with the Cruciatus, that she'd been tortured and raped by his colleagues. What had her name been? Elisabeth?... Carmen?... He couldn't even remember... But he did remember her eyes as she'd been hit again and again and again for a reason that escaped his mind.

His body was shaking as he collapsed on the bed. He didn't want out from those memories... if he'd wanted, maybe he'd been able to throw them out. But he deserved them.

He remembered waiting for his death or worse, for the Kiss, that night long ago and he realized that the two situations were not far apart. They were so much alike. He wondered if he'd be killed now for betraying Voldemort...

No! It was not _him_ who was holding him prisoner now! He had to remember...

But he remembered so well... How the shadows moved on the walls... The same shadows moved now. Had Voldemort seen Monica in his mind? Would he go after her now, taking her away from him? He loved her, she'd be the first person who Voldemort would hit, if he saw her. And then Colt...

But if he received the Kiss, he'd never find out what happened, would he? And if he received it, it would be better, no reason for _him_ to hunt her, was there? She'd be safe... And that was all that mattered. His soul was not all that important.

Coldness went through him and he shivered. If Voldemort had seen Amala in his mind, he'd get her down, he'd kill her. No, if he saw Monica, he hadn't met Amala yet... But how did he know of her, then, if he hadn't meet her? He, Severus, was twenty-two and his lover's name was Monica, he'd never met any Amala... But he met Monica, she was twenty-five and she was a wonderful person. He loved Monica.

No! He was thirty-nine! He had been apart from Monica for sixteen years! They'd only been together on rare occasions and, about eleven-ten years ago their love had turned into a deep, deep friendship. He still cared for her and yes, he still felt some of the old love, but friendship was all that they had now.

And Amala... Amala, she was his lover now. She was seventeen and she was truly an angel. Such intelligence and such an innocent mask, too... He _had to remember_ how old he was, who he was. He had to remember his love for Amala, Monica's flame would not start burning again because of his memories. The similarities were caused because of the dark cell and because the Dementors brought back that night.

He opened his eyes and saw that there were no shadows on the wall, like there had been then. There was no Voldemort wanting to punish him for betrayal. There were no Death Eaters running about trying to kill either Monica or Amala. That night was long gone, such a dreadful night that had been. He'd defeated the Dementor's influence.

He managed to smile thinking of his escape. The way he'd somehow bended the bars on the window in his despair, using a part of his torn robes, the way he'd climbed down the fortress's wall, nearly falling so many times he could not remember. He shivered remembering that. He could have fallen so easily, his feet could have slipped so easily off the nearly polished walls and he'd have fallen from thirty meters up. How desperate he'd had to have been to climb down those walls, which were nearly impossible to hang on to.

How he'd then run into the village nearby, meeting no one, how he'd then Apparated in Hogsmeade and panicked thinking he'd been followed, oh, he remembered...

He remembered walking through the Forest towards Hogwarts, hiding himself in the shadows, going forward only because of his will force. He remembered the way everything seemed to be unnatural then, the new moon, the glittering lake, the dark silhouettes of trees that rather looked like people. How he remembered the feeling that somebody had walked with him all the way, how he remembered the wolf he'd seen run past him. How he could still feel the fallen branches under his feet in those moments when he could see, hear and feel better than at any other time in his life.

He also remembered running into Monica that night, she'd been patrolling the Forest while waiting for him. He remembered her tired, worried face and her happiness to see him. He remembered her shivering in his arms and crying silently when he'd told her of Elizabeth –yes, that had been her friend's name, he now remembered-. He remembered her crying after that when she heard of his loss of grip on Occlumency. He remembered their kiss after that, so full of pain and sorrow.

And he remembered the way the moon shone with a silver light that night, the way the black trees of the Forest moved in a slow dance that spoke of quietness and hiding. He remembered every little detail, every single sound, the branch that hung above him, the silent steps of a distant unicron. He remembered how they'd sat embraced for longer than forever, how then they'd looked at each other and seen themselves more beautiful than ever before...

He remembered the scent of her perfume, the glint in her eyes... The way she'd started moving in her arms with no more sorrow, no more pain, forgetting past and future and knowing only present. She touched him on his very soul then, when they'd made love right before the first break of dawn, when the night was at its darkest hour. He remembered her shivers, her silent moans, her breath...

Every little detail of that night would forever be kept in his soul... Every single detail. And he was sure she would never forget, either...

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Right! Left! Watch. Your. Head, Cameron!" Sania cried. "Come on, that's not how a Fal'sil fights!"

"Oh, shut up!" the other young woman cried.

In the world of Alcara, in the valley where the Falan -or Fal'sil- kingdom had their capital, one half-elf young woman was sparing with another young woman who was completely human. They were standing in one garden from the marginal sides of the city, the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and August was just the best month ever for wearing really loose and comfortable clothes. The small house Cameron's parents had was shining in the middle of the tall green grass. A small bench was standing unused under a tree and the two women were holding wooden sticks, pretending they were swords. The half-elf woman, Sania, was enjoying herself greatly while Cameron was not having too much of a good time.

"Well, if you ever go to battle or to hunt..." Sania started but was cut off by the other woman.

"What if I don't go?! I'm a woman and therefore _not_ a soldier!" Cameron cried. "I want to do other things, not go into battle! Have you ever heard of other pleasures than the ones that include swords, shields, daggers or bows and arrows, Demonheart?"

"Yes, I have" the other one said with a small shrug. "And I enjoy a great deal many things except for fighting, but you should know, my friend, that those who do not use weapons can still die because of them and therefore you should learn how to fight! Besides being a nice sport, it's also helpful!"

"Where the hell do you get such lines from?!" Cameron cried. "Tell me!"

"From another one of my hobbies: watching movies!" Sania said with a roll of her eyes. "That one was from 'the Lord of the Rings', although it's not the exact quote"

"'The Lord of the Rings'?!" Cameron said with an exasperated look. "What's your next favorite? 'The 13th warrior?!"

"Actually, I quite like the 'Adventures of the 3 Ninjas'" Sania said thoughtfully. "And 'Pretty Woman' was great, 'Hot Shots' was one of the most wonderful parodies ever, 'the Histroy of the World, Part I' was extraordinary, 'Karate Kid', all from the series, were inspiring, 'the Sword in the Stone' is one of the greatest animations ever, add 'the Lion King' to that –although the sequels were _awful_-, 'Contact' was great..."

"Ok, ok, I get it" Cameron said, rolling her eyes. "Shish. Don't you ever watch anything _normal_, like, which is not about battles or 100 years old?"

"I liked 'Pirates of the Caribbean'" Sania replied with a smirk. "Now, really... You should get some more practice."

"I hate swords! I hate bows and arrows!" Cameron cried. "Everybody here is nuts! The elves... that's all they speak of, the elves: battles, stars, nature and old times! GO GET A LIFE!"

"Aren't we mad?" Sania asked with a small laugh.

"How the hell can you be so... so... calm!" Cameron cried. "I'm, fuming, steaming and..."

"Using up all your energy" Sania said with an amused chuckle. "Which is not good. I know what you like... You like dresses and make-up and the world where humans originate from, Terra. And you like perfumes and boys and going out. Am I right?"

"Yes! Yes!" Cameron said desperately. "Finally! You've got it!"

"I like those, too" Sania said, sitting down on the grass. "Sit down"

Surprised, Cameron did as she was told and sat down next to Sania, not caring that her clothes would be grass stained when she got up.

"This world" Sania said, showing the other everything around her "is a world of warriors. You know that. The Fal'sil came here one thousand years ago and some others, human or not, joined them in time... Everything went well. As you know, this is a peaceful world, except for the occasional battle with one kingdom or another. Now, the Fal'sil did _not_ invent electrical-based machines and they never used gas or petrol. Many from this world are magical, so some things were adapted, others were not."

"I know all this, Demonheart. Which is your point?" Cameron asked. "I don't get it"

"You will soon" Sania said with a small smile. "Many inventions were brought and adapted from the Original world. Others were brought from other places. No polluting machine or anything was brought here. Therefore, your world has windmills and hydro-electric plants more than the Original world does. It is a much cleaner, less polluted, less crowded place."

"Yes?!" Cameron said, getting impatient.

"What you wish for is that world, Cameron" Sania said seriously. "I lived there for many years. I met girls and young women with the same ideas as you. But do you know what the problem is there?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Cameron said, annoyed.

"They don't know anything about magic or different worlds. Normal people couldn't defend themselves against many creatures, even if they tried. But generally speaking, they're good at war: they've got guns and bombs, they don't need swords" Sania said slowly. "Do you want to be in that world? They have pretty clothes and you would find yourself pretty much in heaven with the responsibility and boy part"

"Yes, I'd like that" Cameron said with a frown. "Why wouldn't I? Why don't you?"

"Because I like forests and animals and trees and control over myself and the possibility to be respected no matter how old I am or where I was for the last four years. I have a name, I have something to say. I can ask to see the king of the elves, I know Saren, the High Priestess of the elves. I can walk down these streets at night and have no fear of being attacked and robbed. I can tell people about experiences I had, things I lived through without being considered nuts. This world is peaceful, Cameron, although many from it are warriors. That world is violent, although not many are soldiers."

"It is not violent!" Cameron said, outraged.

"You've never been there. That's where I come from though. Trust me, it's violent. And there is no such thing as nobility, there are places where the lack of respect for the others can drive one Fal'sil crazy. Of course it has some better parts than this world has... But I like this one better. And for now, you are a Fal'sil and all Fal'sil learn how to fight."

"But I never hunt or go to battle, I don't _need_ it" Cameron said with a sigh. "My parents are both traders, my grandparents were doctors and traders and well, nobody in my family has really fought for generations"

"Well then, tell your parents to stop hoping you'll become a great warrior!" Sania said. "They told me to teach you, but if your heart does not lie with it, there is nothing I can teach that you have not yet learned."

"Tell them?!" Cameron nearly cried. "You know them! They deeply desire I will become a warrior and they won't take 'no' for an answer!"

"But how do you think they'd feel if they realized they've been pushing you the wrong way and you never said anything? You should be a trader, or an esthetician or something of the sort, there is need of such people" Sania pointed out. "A world of warriors cannot resist without traders and workers... Even if they have magic"

"So... you're saying I should let this go?" Cameron shyly asked.

"Yes! If you don't like it, don't do it. Do what you deeply wish to do! _That's_ the warrior's path, not the actual sword fighting and demon-hunting!" Sania said. "A warrior's path is what that warrior chooses to do with his or her path, taking full responsibility of his or her actions. That's it"

Cameron just stared at the half-elf woman in front of her, truly understanding for the first time that she was free to do whatever she wanted with her life.

"I should be going" Sania said slowly. "I must get to the castle. The viceroy and the High Council have demanded my being there in half an hour and I shouldn't be late"

"Okay..." Cameron said slowly and watched Sania as the other smiled at her.

"The two of us" Sania said, getting up, "we're quite alike. I had to fight to become what I am because I was being forced to become what you want to be. And you have to fight to become what you want to be, being forced to become what I am. You have a friend in me, Cameron. Don't forget it"

With that, the young half-elf put her stick down on the ground and left the garden, the small house and her new -found friend behind, heading towards the castle.

She had meant what she had said to Cameron. She would be the other's friend... And indeed they were quite alike. She could remember all the times when she had been back in her family and when her parents had tried to force her to become what she was simply not meant to be. They wouldn't see that yes, school was easy, but it was not enough. She had questions to be answered, things to discover.

She was a warrior and God knew it had taken a lot from her to become what she now was. It would take a lot from Cameron to become what she wanted to be, too. Because Cameron did not simply want a normal life, Sania knew. Cameron wanted to bring all the technological good things from the Human World –also known as the Original World or Terra World- into Alcara. She wanted to make movies a more common occurrence, not something special, she wanted to bring some of the clothing styles into Alcara.

And Sania wanted to bring a lot of Alcara into herself. She wanted to become ageless, like the elves, she wanted to be brave and to be able to face any part of life like a warrior. Like a true warrior... She wanted to find the answers to the questions that human beings were searching for countless ages, she wanted to learn the freedom of being herself... She wanted to learn the language of trees and animals, of stars and clouds.

But for the short future, she wanted to find out why the viceroy had called her at the castle. It was unexpected to call her, she had nearly nothing to do with anything at that moment. She had been in the Forbidden Forest for quite awhile before going to Alcara and yes, she had been in the elven realms quite a lot, but otherwise, why would he call her?

The great grayish-white castle in the middle of the capital got nearer and nearer to the young woman and she soon found herself walking at her quick pace through the corridors. A few servants nodded towards her in hello and she nodded back in reply. After walking up and down the greatly decorated stairs and corridors for what seemed too long a time, she got to the room where she had to be in and entered without bothering to knock. Nobody would have heard it anyway.

The room she had entered was large and the tall windows let the summer breeze inside. She smiled to herself as she took in the details of the room, once again being amazed by the tallness of the ceiling and by the large round table that was in the middle of the room. There were differently colored decorations on the wall and some curtains moved slightly over the windows.

The other people who were in the room were at the round table, mostly talking among themselves and nodding gravely from time to time.

Sania sat down on one of the empty chairs and she looked at the viceroy who was talking to one of the council. She also noticed that there were a few elves there.

There were about forty people there, out of what she could gather. Yes, there was the viceroy, the High Council which consisted of thirty members and about ten elves. She wondered... What did _they_ want with her? Sure, she was respected for some of the creatures she'd fought, but in no way was she anywhere near the greatness of the elves or the importance of the members of the High Council.

Soon, a few others entered the room and they were 49, after what Sania could see... Hmm... 49 was square 7. Did that mean that their luck was squared? She chuckled to herself. Numbers were such a good joke.

The viceroy rose from his chair and gave a small hum before starting to speak.

"Fellow Councilors, great elves and you our valiant guests-"

Sania knew she was one of the 'valiant guests'. Nice way to say 'no-importance-for-this-place people'.

"The reason for our gathering here" the viceroy continued "is the choosing of another king or queen"

Oh, yeah. Sania remembered that problem. The old king, Lombard, or whatever his name had been, had died. He hadn't even been one of the original king's line, that's what she'd heard. He'd been elected by the High Council due to the lack of king or queen at that point of time. All nice and well, but what did it have to do with her?

"We have chosen to bring back the House of Eagle, our King from 1000 years ago" the viceroy said and everybody gasped, including Sania. But... where had the House of Eagle been for all that time?

"But... aren't they... dead?" one of the 'valiant guests' asked.

"No, just forgotten" the viceroy replied. "Because for nearly eight hundred years they have lived in the Original Human World"

Original Human World! So _that_ was what it was called! Ah, she'd been wondering for so long! But still, what did all this had to do with her?

"It has reached our ears that after King Eagle had risen from his place in the Clearing of Roses, he had went to see Naranesh, the human goddess, and there he told her who his heir was and he has given her the Ring of the Fal'sil for her to give to his heir. As some of you may know, Eagle's wife was Roxanna Chase. And as all Chases, she passed her name down from generation and so, her heir and therefore the king's heir still bares the same name. The queen of the Fal'sil is now Jane Chase"

"Holy cow!" Sania said, her eyes widening greatly as she nearly fell from her chair. All the eyes turned towards her and she remembered in a very embarrassing way that she was between a lot of important people and she was just a guest. She was damned.

"Pardon?" the viceroy said and one of the elves chuckled lightly.

"I said... rolling down!... my path of memory is" Sania tried to save at least a last bit of her dignity. Although taking in Yoda-mode was probably no good idea of how to do it. And all the elves were laughing now. "I recall that once before... I met... one girl that did bear such name she?"

Well, not only the elves were laughing now. And she had turned really, really red, being perfectly aware that her sentences sounded as if somebody had ripped apart the words in whatever she wanted to say and gave them back in random order. And mixing them up a little after that, too.

"Oh?" the viceroy said. "Do tell"

"But no way could the future queen and young girl be the same. The future queen must have some age, the girl too young had been"

Okay, okay, some of her sentences were starting to have some sense and poetry-like rhythm. But why was she talking like this again? Oh, yeah, to hide her original mistake. Not that it was working.

"This girl we're searching for is very young too and that is why we called you. You've met a Jane Chase, have you not?" the viceroy asked, apparently never having heard of her before, since he was one of the few people in the room not laughing their heads off.

"Yes, yes, in the Forbidden Forest, right next to Hogwarts school. With a group led by the bearer of the Green Torch she was. I paid her little mind, I had not known her line of king... blood" Sania finished, feeling her word inspiration was definitely not one of the best. The ones who'd managed to stop laughing started again when they heard her drop her voice and say 'blood' in a totally un-noble way.

"Indeed it must have been her, she is learning at Hogwarts and I have been told that she is indeed friends with Harry Potter, the one who bore the Green Torch. Tell us about her" the viceroy asked and Sania sighed inwardly. 'Till the end!

"Young and unknowing small girl, perhaps her parents would do better, such power in their hands. Too young to rule, too young to fight, she is unknowing of what is to come. But she is bright, within the time, become great queen she shall" Sania replied, trying to think of herself as a great, old, experienced queen.

"Her parents are dead" one of the people in the High Council said and the small chuckling went away abruptly. "Killed by supporters of the one that calls himself Voldemort."

"Oh my God!" Sania said shocked. "So sorry..."

"But I have heard she is coping well" the viceroy said. "Perhaps that is why Eagle has chosen her? But this is what I want to ask you: should she be our queen or not?"

"It is known that sometimes greatest minds and hearts come in youngest bodies" one of the elves, who Sania immediately recognized as Saren, the High Priestess, said.

"But experience gets great only by time" Sania pointed out. "And the youngest of the Chases has not had yet any time"

"I know another who walks on the path of greatness and she is hardly older" Saren said, smiling towards Sania. "Intelligence is eternal, although experience indeed comes only by time. I think that yes, she should be back on the throne and that we should be here to help"

"What the great priestess says I agree with" Sania said. Awkward speaking seemed somewhat more normal now. "She is wise, the great priestesses always are"

"What I say" Saren said slowly "is that what your king Eagle has chosen he chose with a reason. His House should be back. We should help her and teach her everything she needs to know. And we should do it by going to her, not calling her to us. She still needs her friends and she still needs to become a witch. Let's not call her to us, let us go to her."

"Us go to her?!" the viceroy said, surprised. "But..."

"She knows no-one here, besides Sania, and that is not enough for her to feel comfortable. Her parents are dead and if we take her away from her friends, from the ones who know her, what will she do? She might like it here, but even liking it will be eclipsed by what she has lost. We cannot ask her to be a queen and therefore to give up most of her freedom, her time, her life, we cannot ask her to sacrifice herself for us, for it _will_ be a sacrifice, while asking her to give up other things that she needn't give up... I may think she can be the queen, but I do not think that she will do it if we rip her apart from her home, her friends and her world."

"Her world is this one" a human woman said in a nasty tone. "She needs to get used to it, this is the place she'll rule and I know many people who would give up anything to rule Alcara! Why wouldn't _she_ do it? We make her queen and before we know it, we have to sacrifice ourselves so she can feel great!"

"I know many people who would kill to sit on this throne too" Saren said, glaring slightly towards the woman. "Don't forget, Sybille, that I know this kingdom too. I have been through these lands for many years and I know that many stupid people or people lacking common sense would want to be rulers, but they only think of the good parts of ruling a world! The first thing that Jane Chase thought when Naranesh gave her the Ring of the Fal'sil was that being a queen was very difficult, a great responsibility. The reason why she thought before accepting was that she was afraid that she would not be able to handle it, she is aware that her age is against her!"

"How do you know?" Sybille asked in an annoying tone. "Has the young girl told you so? She wants us at her feet, mark my words"

"Naranesh read her mind" Saren replied with a small smirk. "Young Jane Chase told nothing of her fears, but those fears are the sign of a great ruler to be. I say we should contact her. Sania can go there, talk to her. We can send teachers, it will not be an effort. We can easily give her a key to this world so she can travel from the Original Human World here at any time. She will be great, once her training finished."

"Well, who agrees with Saren?" the viceroy asked and most of the elves and quite a few of the council raised their hands. "Opposed?" some others, not including Sania, raised their hands. "Very well, then. We shall send her teachers"

Sybille didn't seem to be too pleased, Sania noticed as she raised from her chair and walked towards the exit along with other people. Behind her, she could hear the viceroy asking:

"How old is that elven woman who talked first?"

"Oh, she's only half-elven" one of the elves laughed. "She's twenty-two"

"But... the way she spoke... as if she were a few thousand years old" the viceroy said and Sania could just _hear_ him gap.

"Well, that was because of her first exclamation" the elf explained.

"What was it?" the viceroy said palely. "The one with her remembering?"

"Rolling down my path of memory?" the elf seemed to laugh even harder. "At first she'd cried 'holly cow'. She just had no clue how to correct it"

Sania started laughing like mad and exited the room.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Dumbledore entered the Minister's office after announcing the secretary he had many things to tell him and therefore she shouldn't interrupt them, _no matter what_.

Now of course, Fudge was not announced of his visit... He would find out as he'd be taken away with the parchment portkey at the right time. As for himself, Dumbledore wore invisible gloves, so he wasn't afraid of touching the parchment and disappearing.

As he stepped through the door he saw that Fudge was sitting at his desk, writing something.

"Hello, Cornelius" he said pleasantly. "How nice to see you again"

"Dumbledore!" the other said, startled. "What are you doing here?"

"Let Severus go, Cornelius, this is the last time I ask this of you" Dumbledore said, thinking that it was worth a shot.

"No" Fudge replied, snorting slightly. "I already said it many times ago"

"Very well, then" the old Headmaster said. Plan B it was, then. "I would then like you to sign this paper so I can complete the paperwork"

Fudge eyed him suspiciously as he took out the parchment.

"What paperwork?" the Minister demanded.

"My dear boy, you must know that I'll be representing him in court. I need to get your signature that you are still sustaining that he belongs in Azkaban."

Fudge eyed him suspiciously before saying in a rather disbelieving manner:

"Let me see the paper"

Dumbledore handed him the paper and, as soon as Fudge's outstretched hand touched it, the Minister disappeared and the Headmaster sighed relieved.

"On to part two..." he said before taking off his gloves and touching a portkey of his own and getting into his office in Hogwarts.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

In Dumbledore's office, Iris and Sirius jumped and bound the Minister with two carefully aimed spells.

"What the hell?!" he cried in a voice that was not totally his.

"Don't worry, Fudge, you'll find out soon enough" Iris said and took a bottle of something off the Headmaster's desk. Just then, Dumbledore himself appeared in the middle of the room.

"Ah, I see everything is going alright" he said calmly.

"Dumbledore, what the heck do you think you're doing?!" Fudge cried. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"No, my dear boy, we just want to find out a few things from you" came the reply and Iris took the cork off the bottle. "Drink this, will you?"

"What is it?" Fudge asked, glaring at the bottle.

"Something that will make our talk a bit more easy" Dumbledore replied.

Iris fed the potion to Fudge, who was struggling in reply. She somehow managed to make the Minister swallow some of it and then said with a happy smile:

"Well, a bit of Veritaserum never hurt anyone."

"Veritaserum?!" Fudge cried. "No!"

"Let's start with the beginning" Sirius said smirking. "What's your name"

"Lucius Malfoy" spat the small man and all three gaped.

"Is this working?" Sirius asked, looking at the bottle with a glare.

"Yes" the small man said between clenched teeth.

"I think I'll give it a try" Sirius said and took a small sip from the bottle. "My name is Sirius Black. This Veritaserum is good. Yep, it's working. So... Lucius?"

"Yes" the man who looked like Fudge said sourly.

"When did you take the place of the Minister?" Iris asked slowly.

"After the escape from Azkaban" Lucius replied with a sorrow look.

"Well, Fudge was already a bastard by then, he didn't have much work to do to get in the skin of his character" Sirius said with a small shrug and Fudge let out a short sniff which sounded a lot like a snort.

"Did Voldemort make you do this?" Dumbledore asked.

"He asked me to, yes" Lucius replied, looking at Dumbledore coldly.

"What did you do to Cornelius?" the Headmaster asked.

"We kept him in a cell for awhile, but when he got too much of a pain, the Dark Lord got a Dementor to administer him the Kiss" Lucius replied with something like glee in his eyes. Sirius and Iris shivered like one and the beautiful woman put a hand on her lover's shoulder for support.

"When did he get the kiss?" Dumbledore asked and Lucius couldn't hide a smirk.

"Today, Dumbledore. Today"

The three members of the Order in the room looked at each other with something like horror as Lucius watched them triumphantly.

"What about Severus? What will happen to him?" Iris asked slowly.

"The Dark Lord wanted the Kiss to be administered to him, too, he was just waiting for the right time. If I don't make it back to the office, that scum, Wormtail will go and will finish the job" Lucius said with a bark of laughter. "No matter what you do with me, that fool of a traitor will be worse than dead"

"Nobody would believe Wormtail to be Fudge" Sirius said with a small dismissal of his hand before something dawned on him. "Would anyone believe it, Lucius?"

"Everybody would" Lucius replied.

At that certain time, his body started changing back due to the lack of Polyjuice. In front of the three of them stood now the tall, cold, impressive stature of Lucius Malfoy, complete with an evil smirk.

"Has he ever been in the Minister's place?" Sirius asked slowly.

"Yes" Lucius said, trying to look just as calm and cold, but something was starting to seem really worried in his act.

"When was Fudge taken away from his house and job?" Sirius asked.

"After the Master came back to his material self" Lucius said, definitely looking less calm.

"So, that wasn't him when I told him about the parting of the roads" Dumbledore said slowly and Lucius managed to keep his mouth shut. "Who was it?"

"Wormtail" the blonde said quietly.

Dumbledore sighed.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Remus and Dumbledore were walking quickly down the corridors of the Ministry. After the old Headmaster had gathered a few of the Order and told them about everything, telling them to pass the information forwards, they decided to act as quickly as possible on the Snape matter. Dumbledore had talked to everybody and told them about his deal with Fudge which implied letting Severus Snape go and putting Lucius Malfoy back in prison... Somewhere where Dumbledore decided the best place for him would be. Sirius suggested a nice, cold place six feet underground in a large wooden box. Iris had glared.

"They should really destroy the Dementors they have left" Remus said with a sigh.

"Voldemort _would_ want them in here" the Headmaster replied. "Of course he would make sure that some stayed here. This will all be changed. I will make arrangements for the Minister to be replaced."

"Who will you put in his shoes?" Remus asked curiously.

"I still need to see" Dumbledore replied and sped up his pace. If Wormtail managed to take Lucius' place and give the order for Severus's Kiss in time, it would... Well, let's just say that it would have resulted in a very mad Dumbledore and Order of the Phoenix and in a murdering Amala Wright.

They got on the corridor where Severus's cell was and Dumbledore took out his wand, casting a Patronus charm.

"No use in being friends with them now" he explained to Remus in a short way and took out the key for Severus's cell and opened it.

The Potion Master was sprawled on the small dirty bed. At the moment the two other men entered he woke up from his shaky sleep and got on his feet.

"How nice to see you again Albus, Remus" he said in a dry way.

"You're free" Remus said in a calm way. "And you need to get out of here and back to your house. Kingsley will get your wand"

"He'd better" Severus said dryly and started walking towards the two. They could see he was rather drained, but he was not as bad as they'd expected. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Severus!" Amala said as the Potion Master, Dumbledore and Remus appeared in the middle of the room.

The older man caught her in her arms as she made a few steps towards him. On his tired face a smile appeared. He'd missed her, worried about her in those times when he'd forgotten everything... And then he remembered about relieving that night... He wanted some sleep, a good bath and a bit of peace.

"Hi" he said slowly.

"Are you ok?" she asked looking straight into his eyes.

"I'm rather dirty and tired, but yes, otherwise I am perfectly fine" he replied with a tired smile. "I should be taking a bath and going to bed. I'll be alright tomorrow"

She nodded and his gaze wandered off towards the other people in the room. He gathered all his power to glare at the spectators. What were all the refugees from both Snape Manor and Number 12 doing there?

"I should be going, we'll talk tomorrow" Severus said and released himself from Amala's embrace and walked tiredly out of the room.

"Well, off to bed with all of us" Draco said, surprising everybody. "We need to be awake tomorrow. Well? Let's go, let's go!"

The teens went out of the room at a much quicker pace than the Professor, leaving the adults to stared behind them.

"Sleep is not all they will do" Albus said, his eyes twinkling. "I do believe that they will talk all night"

"I think I agree" Sirius replied. "Well, everybody else, with me, we should be going back to my house"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Colt and the teens were in one of the day rooms on the bedroom level.

"Well, he might be too tired to feel like talking now, Amala" Draco said with a huge smirk "but tomorrow he won't feel like talking either"

"Why?" she asked and the blonde snickered. Colt raised an eyebrow –if such a thing was possible for wolves.

"Are we really _that_ innocent, Amala?" Draco asked with a lot of irony. "He won't want to _talk_ to his girlfriend. In fact, he'll put both your mouths to better use"

"If you're suggesting that he'd be kissing me, why don't you just say it?" Amala asked, rolling her eyes.

"I wasn't thinking of kissing, unless you call that kissing..." Draco said with a smirk and a mock-frown. "How _do_ you call it? Kissing?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ron snapped.

"Nothing your pure and innocent mind would want to know" the Slytherin replied with a now trademark smirk. "Kisses on other parts of the body than the lips... or cheeks, or hair or anything on the upper side of the body or anything too down"

Amala raised her eyebrow before realizing what he meant and blushing slightly.

"I'll have you know, Draco, that we never got to _such_ a part of our relationship" she said, blushing even greater.

"You will soon probably" the blond replied.

"_What_ are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"Do we need to spell it out to you?" Draco asked with an amused raise of his eyebrows. "One last clue: it involves one of the two's mouths and the other's sexual organ"

Ron blushed furiously.

"That's a mental image I could do without" he said between clenched teeth and some of the others, including Amala, laughed.

"Yes well, it's obvious that you've never even thought of anything of the sort, never mind done such a thing" Draco said and made a dismissal gesture. "You're therefore forgiven"

"Ginny, how can you stand him?" Ron asked with a sigh and his younger sister laughed.

"I'm so glad Severus's alright" Amala said in a more serious way. "For a while there I thought something really bad would happen..."

"Don't worry, he's tougher than he looks and he even _looks_ tough" Colt said with a yawn.

"Colt?" Neville said in a shaky voice and the wolf's head turned towards the teen. "How come Professor Snape doesn't... well, you know... hate me anymore?"

"He's never hated you" Colt said matter-of-factly.

"He hasn't?" Neville asked, surprised.

"Nah, that was reserved for Harry here" Colt said drawing a few chuckles. "And especially for James Potter, Sirius Black, a few Death Eaters and Voldemort. Hey, you didn't shake nine tenths as much as usual at the sound of that name!"

"Then what _did_ he feel for me?" Neville asked slowly.

"Something between complete exasperation and complete annoyance" Colt relied casually. "Don't take it personally, but you destroyed his classroom enough times for him to feel that."

At that certain moment, there was a loud bird cry outside and Colt jumped from his spot to the window, looking outside and losing his usual joy and happiness.

"A crow..." he said quietly, but loud enough for the others to hear. "Crows are messengers... Something is to happen soon"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

AN: There goes another chapter... A really long one! That scene with Severus escaping from Voldemort just leaped into my mind. And meeting Monica... Oh, my, Amala will have to find out about her sometime.

Well, then, don't forget to review... I deserve it! looks at you proudly

Replies to reviews –and tones of thanks to those who reviewed! You guys are the best of the best!-:

Skillz: Here you go... chuckle

Inu-kokoro: I can't believe I keep posting chapters at the right time... Talking about coincidence... Well, Severus is back, but Amala _will_ have to find out about Monica. And he might just tell her more than needed... Ouch. ;-)

Marauder#3: Well, it wasn't Fudge... And I basically gave a Kiss to an innocent man... Well, that's Voldemort for you. And you'll get some Amala/Severus soon... Draco might be a complete brat when it comes to saying things, but he's got a pretty good intuition. And Amala/Severus and Draco are sooo fun to write ;o)

Tsuetsu: My lj is at the very top of this chapter, right under 'link to my journal' ;-). And yes, I'd be delighted to have you as a friend! What's your lj? May I add you as a friend?

GamingGuy84: Mate, you make me feel bad. Only _now_ are things getting interesting?! pouts. Just kidding. Well, Voldie's servant was Lucius... I know I don't specify, but he was under Polyjuice then and I couldn't describe him if I didn't want to give away this chapter. And the kids... they'll go to Hogwarts soon enough.

Alcapacien: lol. I meant relationship as in friendship, yes. No, no slash here, it's a slash-free story. And well, their friendship didn't really start in this chapter, but it will soon. All I need is a little time.


	6. The Messengers, the Queen and the Monica

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**Author's Note**: Sorry about the extra-long wait! Really, really sorry about it, guys, I just went through a pretty bad period and well, writing was not one of my easiest tasks. Especially since my inspiration had disappeared somewhere...

Link to my 

Chapter 6: The Messengers, the Queen and the Monica

"Severus? You still up?"

"Yes, Colt. I am still up" the Potion Master said slowly.

The wolf jumped on the man's black bed sheets and nuzzled him easily with his stony nose.

"They've talked about things..." Colt said to his friend slowly. "That Draco Malfoy has a very sexual mind, I must say"

"Why?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Should I quote? Or perhaps just tell you the basic idea?" Colt chuckled. "Well, he said something about you and Amala putting your mouths to better use tomorrow"

"If he meant kissing, he isn't all that sexual" Severus said with a small smile. "You should get out of the house more often"

"More often?! I hardly if ever get out of the house!" Colt laughed. "And Amala asked him why he didn't say kissing too."

"Why didn't he?" the man asked curiously, gently petting the wolf.

"He didn't _mean_ kissing, that's why" Colt said and gave the other a very amused look. "Three guesses what he _did_ mean"

"I think I get the point" Severus mused and closed his eyes. He felt Colt squirm under his touch and opened them back again watching his pet statue with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, cub" Colt said a bit worriedly. "You should be somehow else if you just got out of the Dementors' clutches. Not that I'm complaining!"

"The Dementors didn't affect me all that much" the Potion Master said slowly and thoughtfully. "Yes, they brought back memories, but soon the memories escaped what they wanted me to feel. I missed her, Colt. More than I did for a long time"

"Dear old Monica" Colt sighed after wondering for a second who 'she' was. "But you've got Amala now"

"I think I still love her, somehow" Severus said, looking the wolf in the eyes. "And I think I should one day tell Amala about her"

The wolf just looked at him thoughtfully.

"Just watch out, will you? I'm sure she won't want to know the... details"

"I _will_ watch out"

"'course you will" the wolf replied in a 'yeah-right' tone.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Sybille, slow down" Simnai said, urging his horse to go faster. Would that woman ever go slower? And how on Earth did she manage to get the poor horse to ride _that_ quickly?

"Hurry up!" the witch cried back to him, oblivious to the fact that the others had quite a time galloping behind her. She probably had the best horse in the whole damned realm!!!

Sania wondered how on Earth she'd managed to get herself in that group. So, yes, she'd lead them to Snape Manor to talk to Jane, but still! What was she doing with Sybille –Sybille, of all people!-, two elves –Simnai and Varamesh, good friends of hers- and Maxwell Theodore? The woman, Sybille, was completely against Jane, saying the girl was supposed to be brought to the kingdom and not vice versa–she'd been saying that in the meeting a lot-. Simnai and Varamesh were great elves, yes, powerful, but what did they have to do with Jane? And Maxwell... Well, Maxwell was the viceroy's son. What a team!!! And all to get Jane.

This was not happening, she was not leading a complete _witch_ -said in the Inquisition-y meaning of the word!- two elves that were straight out of nobility and a Fal'silian _prince_ to get a twelve-year old to be the Queen of the Fal'sil!

But then... She thought to herself in a moment of inspiration, what was so odd? What was unbelievable?... Nothing. She'd learned it a long time ago. Nothing was weird or unbelievable when magic was involved... Second thought, nothing was weird or unbelievable when _life_ was involved.

"This is the pathway to the Forbidden Forest" Sybille said with a wrinkle of her pale nose, finally slowing down –but so quickly that the others were already two meters ahead of her when they realized she'd nearly stopped. "What are _we_ dong there?"

"Transform yourself into a man and become Severus 'Bat' Snape" Sania muttered. Yep, even her hair was oily and her eyes were black. Onyx black. The only difference between her and said Potion Master being that she was actually beautiful. "The path that leads to Snape Manor" she said out loud "goes through this forest and then through the Forest of Wolves. We should be there... soon"

"_How_ soon?" Maxwell asked, seemingly having experienced the 'soon' syndrome. After all, 'soon' was always a relative word. It could be 'soon' compared to the time the journey had lasted, 'soon' compared to a human being's lifetime –which was a month or two-, 'soon' for an elf and his or her lifespan –a few years- or 'soon' for the Universe –oh, let's say... 10.000 years?-.

"Um... not so soon" Sania replied with a small smile towards him. "But cheer up, we'll be there in less than a day"

"Less than a day?" he mock-moaned.

She studied him closely. He was fun, young, powerful, noble, a _prince_ and an intelligent person, not to mention handsome! She liked him... Maybe, just maybe, she could get her hands on him?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Severus held Amala in his arms, enjoying every moment of it. They were both sitting in a very comfortable armchair in his wing of the house, just being together quietly. But Severus knew it wouldn't last long and that he would be the one to end it... He just hoped against hope that Amala would understand... But would she?

"Amy" he said softly.

"Hmm?" she replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"There is something I would want you to know" Severus said carefully.

"What is it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and suddenly looking him in the eye.

"I have a wonderful friend which you are bound to meet sometime and well..." he drifted off.

"Is he a vampire or something?" she asked, frowning. "Because, if he's a vampire, he better be safe or I'll have your head"

"No, not a vampire" he chuckled. "It's a human being... a woman, one of my exes"

Amala gave a slight jerk of surprise.

"Why are you telling me this again?" she asked. After all, a female friend, ok, no prob, but why did he mention the word 'ex'?

"Because you _are_ bound to meet her sometime and, as we tend to be quite familiar with each other, I wouldn't want you to get the wrong impression" he said.

"How familiar?" Amala asked, sensing a bit of Severus's uneasiness.

"Quite" he replied. "But it's a relationship of the past... One that ended a long time ago"

"How come you're still friends?" Amala asked, feeling slightly jealous of the woman. Especially because she could feel something was amiss in what Severus was telling her.

"We always were very close and since we didn't part at our own volition..." Severus replied slowly.

"Why _did_ you part?" she asked with a frown.

"It is a long story" Severus replied.

"I have time" Amala said and moved from his lap on to a chair. Severus sighed.

"Perhaps then I should start from the beginning..." he silently said. "From the first time I met her. I was twenty one when I met her. I will not hide it from you that from the very beginning I thought her very beautiful, and I don't mean just the way she looked. I mean the way she truly was.

"She was twenty-four and she had just come from a job somewhere in Eastern Europe and still had a slight accent in her English. She was fascinated with gods, goddesses, myths, religions, Oriental religiosity... And she had a great hand with charms. I had to get to know her better. I was still studying the Arts of Potions then, I was not yet teaching, no, I started doing that when I was twenty-four. I lived in this very house then, but I was going to Hogwarts from time to time, speaking to the Headmaster and then I got to see her. She was working in the Forbidden Forest, searching for some signs of old civilizations. I could see her then, walking up and down the corridors, at fast paces or going slowly, lost in her own thoughts.

"And so I started speaking with her as often as I could... Asked her about her work, what she was searching for, how she'd gotten here, her family, friends... It turned out that she had a sister who'd married an English man and that she was staying with them almost all the time when she wasn't at Hogwarts. Now, she loved her sister, but the two were as far apart as the sky is from earth and she didn't really enjoy staying with them.

"After not so long, she became my first true lover, the first I dare say I ever loved. And well, she was a mistress of many arts, including the one of love. It is from her that I learned many things that I do not easily show to others.

"We were very in love and soon she came to live in this house, she even had the very room you have now. She would walk through this place as if everything here was under her control, which it probably was.

"But after a while, my problems with Voldemort became numerous. He caught me as a spy, I was nearly killed and very, very afraid that she might have been seen in my mind by the Dark Lord. It was not long before that Halloween night when he got nearly killed... But she had to leave, her work here was done and she had some scores to settle with some people she never really told me much about. No matter how close, we still had our secrets that we wanted to keep.

"It was a very saddening time, but we promised to be together how much we could... Unfortunately, I never followed her path. I stayed here to teach and by time I became even more far away from her than I used to be. She was always in a different part of the world, I had to teach, couldn't Apparate all the time since the Ministry was growing suspicious due to my past relations with the Dark Lorrd and well... Our love turned into friendship some eleven years ago. But I still wonder sometimes if I don't still love her, and then I wished she was here again, in my arms..."

"Pardon?!" Amala said and Severus sapped out of his dream-like state. Her eyes glittered furiously like a dragon's and she was glaring in a way that brought his glares to shame. "What the hell do you mean, Severus?!"

His eyes widened at his mistake, but he wouldn't go back on it now. Hell, he wondered, but why wouldn't Amala see that he loved her? No matter if he loved Monica too! And since when did the girl swear in her speech?

"I mean what I say" Severus replied, holding his stance and regarding her with a light frown. "But no matter how I feel about her-"

"Whoa, wait! You still love her?!" Amala said. "Why are you telling me this?!"

"Are you jealous?" Severus asked with an ice-like calm.

"Jealous?! JEALOUS?! You know damned right that I'm jealous!" she yelled. "You _dare_ say you still love this woman from sixteen years ago and in front of me! Why the nerve!"

"Amala!" Severus said in a demanding tone, ready to explain.

"No, just leave it. I understand" she spat, got off her chair and stormed out.

Severus looked after her with a deep frown on his face. What was wrong with her? Couldn't she see that he loved her? Couldn't she see that, damn it, his feelings for Monica didn't affect his feelings for her? Yes, he understood that she was a bit jealous, but make such a scene! And why?!

"That was very smart on your side" he heard a calm voice and turned to glare at whomever was standing in a door frame. That was odd. When had he appeared there? He hadn't seen him before.

"She's acting stupid, can't she see?" Severus said with a bit of tension in his voice.

"She doesn't know she's acting stupid" Colt replied and walked towards Severus. "She is upset that you love somebody else and not her. And it's pretty tough on her"

"But I _love_ her" Severus replied with a glare towards the wolf.

"Not in her mind you don't" Colt pointed out. "Take a good look around yourself, Severus, I think it's you who should be getting out of the house more often. People think that if you love one person you cannot love another and so does Amala. She is not Monica, you know"

"I _know_ she's not Monica" Severus replied pissed.

"You don't show it" Colt replied. "After all, look at what you just did: confused Monica's reactions with Amala's. She is _jealous_, Severus and if you're not careful, your relationship might go down the drain. Go find her. And put that wonderful ice-cold mask back on, it fits you better than this pissed-off state"

Severus snorted and made a few steps before turning back to his life-long friend.

"Why are you here, anyway?" he asked.

"Oh" Colt said and chuckled. "I came to say that there is a weird group of men heading this way, heard so from Mayhowl. I told you about Mayhowl, didn't I? The Lord of Wolves."

"Right..." Severus said with a frown.

"Now, go get her and let _me_ worry about the group" Colt said and jumped at the window. "Go, go, go, go!"

With a smile, Severus walked out the door and went to find his younger lover.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Mayhowl was running through the forest with a part of his pack. Those, those, those... humans had better be on _his_ side, or _else_. Yes, yes, it was true that he could turn into a human being at will, but he still didn't trust the humans as specie. There were quite a few exceptions, but humans were not wolves to show their true colors from the very beginning.

The wolves in Mayhowl's pack were of course the most human-understanding and the best fighters he could gather. They were his 'alpha team'. And he was their absolute Alpha! He was the Alpha of all wolves and therefore he was also the Alpha of werewolves and even of dogs. Some of the dogs did not see him as their master, but all transformed werewolves would obey his will.

Some humans had called it magical, but wherever the Lord of Wolves went, he was recognized as such. They had managed to find the Lord of Wolves several times and made him order his packs or several individuals do one thing or another and they saw that even the orphan pups obeyed him without as much as a question. The Lord of Wolves was recognized beyond words, at a very deep level and he would be obeyed by all... Not mindlessly, mind you, just the pups did that, but the others obeyed him while thinking for themselves. And as a Lord of Wolves, he had most understanding of other species and could understand their speech, be it bird, veela, human –yes, any language- and could turn into a human or human-like being at will.

But how did such Lord of Wolves appear, you ask? How did they come to be? Well, none of them had ever been elected, that was for sure and it had been one of the jokes of the wolves for many a years. No, such Lords were born usually or they earned their title after much work to become what they wanted to be-on the inside. It was rather about power and attitude, and Mayhowl was one of the lucky ones who had been born so. He also remembered the tales of the White Wolf, who'd been the absolute Alpha of the Alphas, the greatest Lord ever. He'd been born one thousand years before and he'd fought the Terrorist Wolf, an ill-intentioned Lord of Wolves and then had disappeared. Legend said he was still alive. Well, if he was, he wasn't anywhere near the normal packs of wolves, that was for sure.

And yes, my friends, there could be more than one Lord of wolves at one time, but it was not often and usually one of them was greater than the other and one would be able to tell it from the wolf's looks the overall feeling he generated.

Yep. Wolves were the best, Mayhowl grinned. Unlike humans who never knew who their Lords were and who wanted to be Lords without working hard to change themselves.

Those humans who were invading _his_ territory would better be prepared.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Amala had just collapsed on her bed. Severus was such a... such a... she didn't know exactly _what_ he was, but it was definitely bad. How could he do that to her? Saying he loved her and then confessing his love for that Monica-woman. She snorted to herself. What an idiot.

The door opened and Severus's head poked inside.

"Amy?" he asked.

"Go away, to your Monica!" she cried back.

"Let me just explain..." Severus said.

"Leave me alone" she said with a growl.

"I love you" Severus said slowly. "I love you... in a different way than I loved her. And I don't think I can stop loving you. I don't _want_ to and I only told you about Monica because I thought it would be a very good idea to tell you about her, since she is still a friend... And because I want you in my life long enough to meet her and maybe even befriend her. I know you two would get along well"

"Are you listening to yourself, Severus?!" Amala said with a deadly glare. "Confessing your love left and right and expecting me to even _get along_ with your _other_ love! Am I the one you're cheating her with?"

She had expected anything from him but a snort and a small laughter.

"I haven't even kissed her for eleven years. _Eleven years_, Amala. It's more than half your life"

"I know how much it is!" she cried. "But I know something, if you still love her, you can't possibly love me the same as you love her!"

For a second, Severus seemed undecided before saying:

"Of course I don't love you the same"

"Hah!" she cried and her eyes glowed like a dragon's. "I knew it! And you _dare_ come here and-"

"Tell you that I love you in a different way than I love her because you're two different women? Of course I dare" Severus replied with a smirk. "I dare do whatever I like. Now, you should know that I've meant every word I've said in the past few minutes. You can either cope with it or not, but I should warn you that I will not tolerate any jealousy scenes from anybody. The only owner of myself is myself and you have no right to tell me off for anything except what I do to you."

"WHAT?!" Amala cried, outraged.

"The reverse is also valid" he said with a smirk and walked towards the bed. "I have no right to tell you off for anything that has nothing to do with me... Or with your safety"

"Yeah right!" Amala said and poked him not-so-gently in the leg as he sat down on the bed right next to her. "As if! What if I told you now that I always wanted to kiss Harry Potter and now that you allow me to, I'll go out with him?"

Severus grimaced.

"Out of all people, she _had_ to pick a _Potter_" he muttered to himself. "Damn"

"Oh, so _you_ can comment?!" she said with a glare.

"I'm commenting your lack of taste in men" Severus said and Amala suddenly had a mischievous smile on her face as she opened her mouth. "I was the exception that confirms the rule" he said quickly and Amala moaned exasperatedly.

"Don't change the rules!" she cried at him.

"I'm a Slytherin, that's what we do" Severus replied and crashed on the bed.

"I definitely am _not_ done with ranting against you loving another woman!" Amala cried.

"I can see that" Severus replied with a roll of eyes. "But she isn't here... and you should cut down on that jealousy. It's not as if I wouldn't want you because I love her. And in fact, even if she _was_ here, I'd still be with you, since she doesn't think of me as a lover anymore. And even if she _did_ and we _would_ be together, you still wouldn't be out of my life. Unless you left it on your own accord"

"So, you'd be going out with _two_ women" Amala growled.

"Of course" Severus replied and grabbed her in his arms. "But do you _really_ think I'd be neglecting either of you? Cut down on your jealousy"

"I don't want to, because you're a complete jerk here!" she replied and poked him in the chest. "I mean..."

"Shut up" Severus said in a calm manner.

"WHAT?!" Amala cried.

"I said... shut up. You talk too much and assume way too much and it's tiring" Severus replied and caught her lips with his. For a second or two, she went still with surprise before pushing Severus back and staring at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a tone that meant she actually inquired him about what he was doing.

"Unexpected turn, isn't it?" Severus asked with a smirk before letting himself fall down on the bed. "You'll grow to see that I still have surprises up my sleeve. I don't show them to anybody, but maybe you'll get to see some of them."

"As?" Amala asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well..." Severus replied slowly. "I _might_ show you..."

"What?" Amala asked and he smirked devilishly.

"See that?" he asked and she stared at him.

"See what?" she asked with a frown.

"I got your mind off my ex, didn't I?" he replied with an even more devilish smirk. "Done ranting? Can I go ahead and try to do some very wicked things to you now?"

"What do you mean, 'wicked things'?" Amala demanded and Severus snorted, got up and grabbed her in his arms.

"I win this round... I got your mind off my ex again, even while mentioning her two seconds before" he purred. "And now, decide: what's more important? Ranting about her, or cursing me for touching you in... off-bound places?"

"Your hands aren't..." she started saying before one of his hands slid down under he shirt and on her skin, up to her breasts. "Hey!"

"About time, isn't it?" he chuckled mercilessly. "So? What will it be?"

"Damned be you and your choices" she growled. "Get your hand..."

"Not about to" he cut her off with a dark voice and she growled. He wasn't intimidated though –and she supposed it _would_ be hard to intimidate him, Death Eater and all that- and took her growl as a good sign. Which, hell, she couldn't tell if it was.

And then, the Divine Providence decided to bump in the situation by allowing one redhead to knock on the door and enter without waiting for a reply.

"Amala, where-"Ron started asking before stopping to gap at the scene in front of him. Of course, he'd expected to see Amala there. He'd seen her go in the room about twenty minutes before. He'd naturally assumed she wouldn't be undressed. After all, she had no reason to be. So, he'd just popped in hoping to find Hermione's homework –his girlfriend had told him she'd left it with Amala-.

He had _not_ expected to see Amala on the bed, Severus Snape holding her in his arms while having one hand slid under her shirt rather visibly and with his lips nearly an inch from her neck. And the look on their faces was rather odd: she had a surprised look on her face and she was reddening quickly, while telling him rather desperately from her eyes to just go away. Snape had, however, an ordering expression which clearly said: "get out". He was dark, powerful, not quite glaring, but very close to and... turned on? That was odd. Ron had somehow missed that side of said Severus Snape in favor of the 'snarky bastard' one.

"Ok, like, shit, sorry, Professor... Amala... bloody hell... I'll be back later... no, tomorrow... bye!" he said, turning redder than the couple had thought possible and shooting out the door at maximum speed behind him and shutting it with a bang.

Severus pulled his face back from Amala's neck and said in a somehow sarcastic tone:

"Your friends are rather odd"

"Says the man who has a walking, talking wolf statue for a friend" she pointed out with a smirk.

"Ah, yes, good old Colt" Severus muttered. "At least he bothers to knock on the door and _wait_ before coming in"

"Really?" Amala asked, raising an eyebrow. "How does he knock? With his tail?"

"Surprisingly enough" Severus replied with a small smile. "Yes. Now, where were we?"

"Well, you were just about to explain why you're acting odd lately" Amala replied with a frown. "And I still wasn't done ranting..."

"Acting odd?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow, ignoring her second sentence on purpose. "No... You just haven't had the chance to see a great deal of me yet. But we could change that..."

"Could we really?" she asked with a small smile.

"Oh, yes..." Severus replied in a purring tone and moving back to her neck.

"I see now that you have quite a dirty mind" she mused.

"Dirty mind? And why would my mind be dirty?" he snorted. "You teens have a tendency to call every sexual manifestation 'perverted' or 'dirty'"

"Just for a joke" she laughed.

"Words have a greater power than you imagine" he said seriously. "Especially when said a lot by everybody around you. Voluntarily or not, they get to you"

"You don't have to get so serious, sheesh" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"I've seen too many good people taken down by mean words, Amala" Severus replied. "I tell you those victims are sometimes even more frightening than the Dark Lord's victims."

"Ok, ok..." she said exasperatedly. "Listen, I need to go check out on something with Hermione..."

"Of course" Severus replied not very pleased. "But I _will_ be seeing you later"

"Right" she said with a small nod and got out of the room.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Stop!" Sania heard and could see that Sybille had stopped suddenly even before the cry. The group of five stopped and saw that they were surrounded by a pack of wolves who were eyeing them not very nicely. She could almost swear that the one who'd given the cry had been Mayhowl, but she couldn't be sure and Sybille and Simnai were covering the view. She decided to give it a shot, after all, most wolves obeyed Mayhowl and those who didn't... well... they'd attack anyway.

"May?!" she cried and saw the wolves growl dangerously.

The man moved quickly around the five people and looked at her.

"Sania? What a pleasant surprise!" he said with a genuine smile before turning to his wolves and letting out some sort of command which made the wolves lessen their guard, but not let it down completely. "What is the occasion?"

"You have heard of the Fal'sil" Sania replied, and it wasn't a question, but a statement. "They are lacking royalty and have found a Queen for themselves. The path to her leads this way"

"Only Snape Manor is this way, the way you've been coming. Or the village, but I've seen no royal there, unless she's a _human_ kind of a royal... In which case, turn back, you're making a big mistake"

"She's a true Queen, May" Sania replied and realized that the others were watching her closely.

"In Snape Manor, then?" the Lord of Wolves questioned.

"In Snape Manor she is, yes..." Sania replied. "Kind of young, but still..."

"I was young too when they found me" Mayhowl replied with a small smile. "If she's a true queen, then the only thing she lacks is experience, but that she can always get"

"You're letting out too much" Sybille warned coldly.

"Anyway it's been told in public, Syb" Sania replied with a short laugh and the woman glared madly. "And I'd trust wolves with my life, they are much more discreet and trustworthy than humans"

Mayhowl smirked.

"Hear, hear" he said slowly. "Then, you won't mind an escort"

"No, we wouldn't!" Sania said with a huge smile. "Just tell them not to eat us alive, they look like it"

The Lord of Wolves laughed and turned to his wolves, ordered them something, then turned into a wolf himself.

"Ok, let's go" Sania said, eager to get to Snape Manor. She was sour from the trip.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Amala entered the dayroom with a dreamy look on her face. Well, dreamy until she saw a very red Ron in there, along with the rest of the group.

"Amala, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt" he said as red as a tomato.

"Don't worry" she laughed and saw the very odd look on the boy's face. "What?"

"I just realized how close you and Snape are..." Ron replied and went, if possibly, even redder.

"Earth to Ronald Weasley" she said shaking her hand in front of him. "Of course we're close, remember?"

"Ron, what did you witness?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Me and Severus together in a rather _un_compromising situation... What's wrong?" Amala asked with a frown. "It's not as if we were even kissing"

"I might be blind" Ron said slowly "but I did see his hand under your shirt..."

"Yeah, that doesn't happen often" Amala said, still puzzled "but surely you've done that too?"

"Yes, but I'm not Severus Snape and I don't think I have that 'let-me-just-get-you-in-bed' look when I do it" Ron pointed out. "I'm still in shock"

"I didn't see his look" Amala said with a frown.

"You were kind of back against him, now weren't you?" Ron asked. "Still, in shock, still in shock"

"He _is_ a human being, despite common beliefs" Amala replied with a small smirk. "You should have seen that before"

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by Colt who jumped at the window and let out a loud howl, nearly deafening everybody.

"What the hell was that for?!" Draco cried.

"Mayhowl let me know that he was here and I had to say something, so he'd know I'd heard" Colt replied simply. "I've gotta go meet him... See what's going on"

The wolf ran out of the room and the teens just stared behind him.

"Did you guys hear anything?" Ron asked after a few seconds.

"Before that infernal howl?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. "No. But wolves do have extremely good hearing, you know"

They stayed in silence for a few more seconds, each of them trying to hear anything odd, but no suspicious sound could be heard. Finally, Draco got up, holding Ginny's hand, and said:

"Well, then, we'll be on our way now..."

They all just nodded, before Ron's eyes widened.

"Where are you going with my sister?!" he cried.

"Quick in anger, as always, aren't you, Ron?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why can't you just calm down?"

"I won't let you go away with this... this..." Ron stuttered.

"Pardon?" Ginny asked with a low growl. "You won't _let _me? Ron, you're such an idiot..."

"I might not like you a lot, Weasel" Draco said with a feeble smile, looking worriedly towards Ginny "but I'd advise you not to go against your sister. She looks murderous"

"Thank you" she said with a glare towards Draco. "Now, Ron, you will finally learn that I am a person and not _your_ property, so I have the right to do whatever I desire... Or at least I hope so. Come on Draco, let's go"

She stormed out the door and, for the first time in their lives, they could see Draco Malfoy dragged away by somebody and tripping on the carpet, looking a bit helpless.

"I wouldn't worry about her, Ron" Harry said with a smirk. "In case of need, she can kill Draco"

Ron didn't comment, he just muttered something darkly.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

In front of the gate towards the Forest of Wolves, Colt was staring through a small hole in the wall that was there for him to see the ones outside. Indeed, he could see Mayhowl and a few of his wolves and two humans and two elves... and, what was that? She smelled like both a human and an elf, but she looked like an elf. He probably had a cold. Hey... _could_ stone wolves get colds?

Let us in, Mayhowl said to his stone companion, not bothering to explain the oddity of the group.

Sure do Colt replied and opened the gate easily.

We're looking for Jane Chase, you know her the Lord of Wolves said and let out a stifled yawn. He should have probably slept more than one hour the previous night.

Yeah, let me show you the way Colt replied. "Follow me"

The surprise to hear a wolf talking human nearly made the cold-looking woman fall of her horse. Colt led them through the gardens, up to the castle and straight to the stables. The Snape family might not have had horses or mules or anything of the sort for a long time, but the stables would suffice... Especially with a bit of help from the house elves.

They all left their horses there, having enough tact not to wrinkle their noses and the places and then Colt led them into the house and howled for Severus to get there.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Severus was reading in the library when he heard the howl and he understood quickly that he had to get there fast. He let his book down, carefully putting a book sign in it –damned be that idiotic guest he'd had once that had ripped all the page numbers from that book away. Whatever he had been thinking, it must have been a pretty stupid thought-.

He hurried down the corridors, frowning to himself. Probably that group Colt had announced had arrived. For the first time since he'd left Amala, he was actually happy he hadn't managed to convince her to go further. Imagine... just imagine... having to stop... like that.

He made it in the large room in the new part of the house that people got to see first if they went through the main entrance in the house and there he saw six people and four wolves, plus Colt, looking at him in odd ways. What was going on?

"Hey, Severus, this is the group that I told you about earlier... the two male elves there are just that: elves... the female is half-elven, the two others are humans and... oh, Mayhowl seems to be in his human shape also. The four wolves are bodyguards, so to say... Um... yeah"

Severus just stared at them weirdly. What the-?

"We're here to talk to Jane Chase, the new Fal'silian queen" one of the humans said with a feeble smile. "I believe you know of the situation?"

"Oh, yes... Hard to miss" the Potion Master replied, suddenly the problem seeming more and more important, now that these messengers were here.

"Where is she?" the human woman asked unpleasantly and Severus instantly smirked on the inside. She was ready to go to business... and she resembled him a little. Oh, he would so show her who was master of the house.

"Somewhere around the house" Severus replied with a smirk. "Inkle!"

A house-elf appeared at his command and the company raised eyebrows at the situation, especially the two real elves.

"Yes, sire?" the small creature asked.

"Find the others for me and get them down here. Now." Severus said in a somewhat kind matter and the creature bowed and left. "Shall we sit down?" he said towards the six human and human-alike beings and, without waiting for a reply, he went and sat down on the largest couch around. The others could only follow and he could _feel_ Colt muttering darkly behind him.

They all sat down opposed to the Potion Master, the human woman, Severus observed, right across from him. They introduced themselves quickly and then they were all quiet for a few minutes until the teens came. Yes, it would turn out interesting.

They entered the room at different times, Draco Malfoy and Ginevra Weasley first, both looking surprised at seeing the unusual company, then Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, and then in a group, Jane and everybody else except Amala and Amala half a minute later. Then, Maxwell decided it was time to make the introductions and speak what they had to speak.

"Hello, we're here to speak to Jane Chase" he said, getting up. "I am Maxwell Theodore, son of the viceroy of the Fal'sil"

Jane paled hearing that, but she looked daring and brave nevertheless.

"We are here to tell you of your duties and to make sure you are trained as the new queen in the right way" Maxwell said with a small smile. "We will take you to your kingdom and we will introduce you to your subjects"

"You'll take me away from my life here, so" she said with a very pale smile. "I could cope with that"

"No, you can stay here... We understand you have a life and it is good for our alliances with the wizarding world" Maxwell said and some color returned to Jane's face. "Now, this is your new trainer in the arts of war" he said, turning towards Sybille, who got up.

"My name is Sybille and you will refer to me as such. Do _not_ dare to call me _Syb_ or I _will_ have your head" Sybille said in a very unpleasant matter.

"Don't mind her, unhappy childhood" Maxwell said towards the worried Jane with a wink. Sybille turned towards him with a glare. "Theodore Maxwell" she threateningly said. "How _dare_ you?"

"_I'm _the viceroy's son" he pointed out with a sly look. "I have my diplomatic immunity"

"Diplomatic, yes. Magical, no" Sybille said, grasping her wand.

"Oops" he said slowly. Jane chuckled, still seeming to be a bit distraught.

"Simnai and Varamesh, to your service" Simnai recommended while Varamesh made way to calm Sybille down. "We will help you with the arts of swords and bows."

"And you know me" Mayhowl said with a smile. "I'm the Lord of Wolves and I'm here for no really important reason besides having made sure this group got here safely... And that they were no threat"

"Aha..." Jane said slowly. "So... What happens now?"

"Now us wolves leave" Mayhowl said. "Colt, will you please lead me and my pack outside?"

"Of course" the wolf replied and led the others of his specie outside the house.

"And we will stay here for one night, if Mr. Snape allows it" Maxwell said with a look towards the Potion Master who rolled his eyes.

"Very well, you may stay" he said with a growl.

"And tomorrow you shall become more acquainted with us. Tomorrow night we go towards our realm, where you shall meet your people and see your castle. We will return as soon as you like after that" Maxwell said, seeming to be relieved that Snape would have them.

"All settled then" Sybille said with a dark smile. "Snape, show us to our rooms"

Severus raised his eyebrow at her commanding tone, but then said with an evil smirk.

"Very well, follow me"

He got up and stormed through half the room before stopping, looking behind him and rolling his eyes at the group that seemed to still be glued to the couch.

"Well?"

The five people got out and followed the Potion Master.

"It seems to me, Jane" Draco said with a worried glance towards the girl "that your life has just gone straight to hell"

"You can say that again" she said, raising an eyebrow. "That was odd..."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

AN: Perhaps not the best ending, but... Anyway. Maybe I'll repost.

RtR:

Skillz: thanks for your review! And yeah, Ron really is lovable ;-)

Tsuetsu: Already added you on livejournal... I think. My username is priestesssaren... All the others I tried were out. :-)

Alcapacien: lol. Yes, there will be no slash in this story and thanks!

marauder#3: Well, I hope this chapter answered your question... although kinda late. ;-) Thanks for the review!

Soramiko: thanks for your wonderful reviews and yes, you could say I'm rather found of the Amala/Snape pairing too. :-)

GamingGuy84: I was just joking about the insult lol. Don't take me personally. Thanks!

Inu-kokoro: Yes indeed, a young woman's heart is fragile... unless that young woman happens to be me ;-). Poor Amala indeed... She'll be seeing a lot of Monica.

Other chapters:

Skillz: Ginny and Voldemort? Hmm... That's something that makes my hair sit up. Really. But I get what you mean. Thanks for the review!


	7. The New Lands or History Repeats Itself

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**Author's Note**: Hi guys! Had a broken down internet, but as you can see, I've managed to post! Now, on to some small news: GamingGuy84, I like you. You're completely trashing my favorite pairing in this story, but I decided that you are somewhat right. No, I won't break them up… ;-) I'll give your voice a character and put it in this. The voice of "Amala/Snape is just wrong" will be represented by our one and only favorite… Sirius Black! Enjoy!

Also, Red, in case you're still reading and everybody else: there is a small 'tribute piece' written for something in the Red Dragons Order "Sagas". Those of you who read her "HP and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Hp and the Green Flame Torch" will recognize it ;-).

Link to my 

Chapter 7: The New Lands or History Repeats Itself

Once upon a long time ago, Christopher Columbus had a dream. He dreamed of sailing the seas and getting to the far lands of India by going instead of east, through Turkish territories, as everybody did, going west and circling round the world. So, he sailed.

Of course, he never made it there. He made it to America and discovered it. It is said that right after the discovery, a few other people started commenting on his success and finally, getting mad, Columbus asked them if they were capable of making an egg stand tip-up on a table. The people tried and tried to do it, but none of them could make the egg stand like that for more than a second. Asked how it would be possible, Columbus took an egg and smashed it against the table, of course the remains of it standing tip-up.

"We could have done that!" one of the people cried.

"Then why didn't you?" he retorted.

What is remarkable about this story is that, even though he had had the idea, he had known how to "smash the egg" for the journey, he never realized he hadn't made it to India, but had discovered a new land. It wasn't until indeed, much later, Amerigo Vespucci realized the error and named the new land, of course, after himself. And Columbus… well… he got two cities, and you could say he also got a state and a river, couldn't you?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Avery, have you found it yet?" he heard _the_ voice.

"Still searching, Master" he replied, shaking slightly.

"You better find it soon, it has reached my ears that the Fal'sil shall return. We cannot fight the Fal'sil by ourselves, now can we?"

"No, Master…" Avery replied slowly and turned to look into those red, snake-like eyes.

"Perhaps something to make you hurry up" Voldemort asked with a small disturbing smile.

"I'm doing the best I can, Master, I swear!" the man said, but before he could say anything, the pain of a Crucio hit him… and even while burning with pain, he still felt he had not deserved it.

"Hurry, Avery, we have not much time" he said in an at first sing-song voice only to drift off in that horrible demonic voice.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Come on, Sirius, you know Severus called us to his Manor and we should be there on time!" Iris said, although she knew it was somewhat a lost cause. Where was Remus when you needed him?

"Coming, love" he replied while putting on some more decent clothes.

"Hurry!" she begged.

But, surprisingly enough, it took him a very short time to get all dressed up. Much shorter than she'd imagined.

"See? I'm ready and I'm ready on time" he said with a soft laugh as he kissed her briefly.

"You were _almost_ late" she said with a roll of her eyes. "Well come on, Remus is waiting"

They left their room and went down the stairs in the kitchen where, indeed, Remus was waiting. He smiled at the two before taking some Floo Powder and throwing it in the fireplace while calling for Snape Manor. Iris went next, winking at Sirius before disappearing and the Animagus left last.

Sirius had never truly enjoyed Flooing. Actually, he doubted anybody did, but to be truthful, he downright felt sick after it. All that spinning... especially after a short breakfast. He much preferred just sticking his head in, but never mind that.

He got to Snape's house and again admitted to himself that the man did indeed have taste and a great house. Too bad he couldn't be half as decent as the house pointed him out to be. He had never truly understood why Amala went out with him. Actually, he doubted anybody did.

His two companions were waiting for him and Iris laughed.

"You look worse than you usually do after Flooing" she told him.

"Thanks" he replied and she giggled. Women.

"Well, we should go, the others must be expecting us" Remus said and made a small gesture towards the other room.

They moved on through the doors towards the other room and Sirius's eyes widened as he saw a large group of people there, some of which he definitely did _not_ recognize.

There were three elves, he could see, two of them he recognized as Iris's friends. But the third he didn't know, he'd never seen her before. And that… woman. Well, if the witches in the Middle Ages looked like that, no wonder there had been a thing called 'inquisition'. She looked as dark as Snape, as evil as a she-demon and as much a control-freak as… Voldemort, maybe?

And the young man, he looked like an easy-going person, not very careful with words or gestures, and yet responsible. A bit like Sirius himself, really.

And the scene, it looked really… unfriendly? Would that be the word? Snape and that witch-woman were at each other's necks, spitting words at one another. The two male elves were watching them ready to jump at signs of battle and the she-elf was lying back and enjoying the show. Albus and Minerva –Albus and Minerva? What were they doing here?- were trying to say something. The refugees of Snape Manor were sitting down, Draco eyeing everything with something like glee in his eyes and the others maybe a tad worried. Amala was two meters away from the arguing Snape and witch, looking undecided whether she should step in or run away, far, far away.

And that wolf of Severus's… he was walking between the two, growling and saying something.

"How _dare_ you, you filthy vermin!" the witch cried and Sirius could feel a part of him enjoying her cry. Yep, 'filthy vermin' described Snape well enough.

"This _is_ Snape's Manor, Sybille" the young man said. "He has the right to do…"

"He _must_ treat us like the true warriors that we are!" she cried back to him. "Or do you _like_ sleeping in some creature-infested rooms, _Maxwell_?"

"My room wasn't infested" he frowned and the she-elf let out a snort of laughter.

"What?!" the Sybille woman cried and, apparently, tried to put a threatening finger under Snape's nose, but her hand moved too fast and she poked him in the nose. "ow _dare_ you, you bloody…"

"Such a _fine_ true warrior yelling and cursing like a sailor" Snape said in a very ironic matter. "Where is the world getting to?"

"Better bedrooms, I do hope" Sybille replied. "A disgrace to the wizarding world, aren't we _now_, Snape?"

"I don't know about myself, but you surely are" the other man replied in a cold voice.

"Come on, you two" Colt cried from somewhere under them. "_Try_ acting like adults!"

"Shut up, you filthy wolf and go back in the forest with your pack" Sybille spat.

"Nobody treats _my_ wolf like that" Snape said, really angered now.

The she-elf got up from the couch and walked towards the three new people in the room.

"Hello" she said in a low voice. "Place your bets."

To Sirius's surprise, Iris did indeed take out a galleon and handed it out to her.

"Severus" she whispered.

"Anybody else?" the elf asked and winked at Remus and Sirius.

"I bet on _her_" Remus said as Sybille poked Severus in the nose again. It became quite clear to Sirius that she did it on purpose. And that he was getting mad.

"Him" he replied and took out a galleon himself.

"Good, good" she nodded and walked to some others, apparently with the same question.

"Who's that?" Sirius asked his lover.

"That'd be Sania Demonheart, she used to be a human being until she became half-elven by the grace of her Master" Iris replied quickly. "She spent a lot of time with Saren, the priestess, though, and she's started betting for fun"

"Saren bets?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"With a passion" Iris replied and winked at him. "Oh, no, I missed it! Remus, how did they get to the topic of vampires?"

"I couldn't tell you exactly" Remus replied. "It's quick and confusing. Hey, look, Amala's sat down and I think she's betting also"

"I bet she's bet on Snape" Remus whispered to Iris.

"I bet that too" she laughed.

"I don't think so" Sirius said quickly, watching the scene. "How much do you bet?"

"Five galleons!" they both replied in the same time and Sirius smirked.

"I'll hold you up to that" he laughed shortly.

Sania returned to her seat on the couch and, before she was seated comfortably, Amala jumped back to her feet and rushed towards the two.

"Alright, show's over!" she cried to the two and they both turned to her, intrigued. "Act like grownups, now. Sybille, he was a complete baby to give you a room like that, but you're a complete baby by arguing like this about it. I mean, you're a great warrior, you shouldn't act like a normal human being, like this, right? You're superior!"

Sybille just watched her, gaping slightly.

"And Severus! I really thought more of you! Yes, she started bossing you in your own house, but what was up with that bedroom? She's a guest and you're _supposed_ to be a true host! Well?! Now, both of you, stop arguing, we all have better things to do, like seeing what is to be done about the whole queen Jane situation! It's more important than your personal fights, you can have those later!"

The two just stared at her in disbelief before Sybille let out a short bark of laughter.

"Now I know why adults usually say: 'shut up when people older than you are talking'. Fledglings sometimes have more common sense"

The transformation from complete witch to a person with humor and understanding and capable of losing was so surprising that everybody else was frozen with chock.

"The girl is right. Pardon me, Severus"

"Pardon me, Sybille" he replied, still trying to figure her out.

After they shook hands, Sania stepped out of her stupor.

"Hah! Everybody lost, besides Amala!" she laughed. "Come on, Amy, let me give you your money"

There were groans all over, especially from the teenage group. Sirius smirked as he shouted towards Sania.

"Who did she bet with?" he asked.

"Herself, despite my expectations" Sania replied with laughter in her eyes.

"Pay up, pay up" Sirius said with a large grin and Remus and Iris groaned.

"What is going on?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We were betting who we thought would win the fight" Amala replied. "I betted on myself. And won, of course"

"And we betted she would bet with you and we lost!" Iris said in a half-whining tone, putting the money in Sirius's open hand.

"Sorry, love, I wasn't 100 that you'd win" Amala said, collecting her money also.

"Who here has bet?" Snape asked, intrigued again and Amala's hand shot up in the sky. Soon, Remus and Iris joined her. Sirius also did. One by one, the teens raised their hands. Next followed Maxwell and, finally, the two male elves raised their hands. "That all?" the Potion Master asked.

"Oh, I also bet!" Albus said. "And lost spectacularly, I must say"

"Alas, who was I not to bet?" Minerva asked with a low sigh and Severus watched them with a look of surprise.

"Everybody here?" he asked slowly.

"Yes!" they all replied, even Colt. "Hey, I bet one galleon on you too" the wolf excused himself. "The fact that I was between you didn't mean I couldn't see what was going on, no?"

The others laughed at the two fighters' shocked faces and at Colt's sheepish one.

"Now, on to business" Amala said with a short sigh. "Severus, Sybille, do the honors, speak the topic"

She went and sat down next to Sania who was smirking at her.

"Let us start with the beginning. Do you all remember when Naranesh came to Hogwarts?..."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"All settled, then" Maxwell said after two exhausting hours of talking. "We will take her to see her kingdom today, then we will return with her in one week. After that, we start to train her in Hogwarts. Everybody –finally- pleased?"

There was a unanimous 'yes' and Jane left with Iris to pack her bags. It would be exciting. Exhausting, but exciting. Harry looked long after the young girl and found himself feeling maybe a little sorry for her… she would have to rule a kingdom all by herself, for the rest of her life. Maybe it would be a wonderful life, but maybe it would be a burden that she would wish she'd never accepted… And Harry knew how such burdens felt like. But the difference was, he'd never chosen his and he would only carry it until Voldemort was gone… or he himself was gone.

But who was he kidding? He'd still have the fame and glory if he lived. Would anybody truly ever get to know him, or would they just look at the 'Boy-Who-Lived'?

"Poor child" he head a slow voice and turned to see Remus Lupin having the same look of pity that he knew he had on his face.

"I think I am beginning to agree" Sybille said slowly. "But alas, she has Eagle's blood running through her veins. She will do well. I will be with her all the way"

"Hear, hear" Maxwell said with a surprised look. "What determined _that_ change of attitude, Sybille?"

"Her" the witch replied. "The Queen herself."

"She barely said anything, besides 'yes' and 'I'll try' and 'I'll do my best'" Maxwell pointed out.

"Exactly" Sybille replied and, seeing Maxwell's confused face, added: "I'd thought she was a spoiled girl, wanting everything to be done for her, but she is truly the Queen, I see. Or she will be, when she grows up a little. Meanwhile, I will be with her, helping as much as I can"

Harry frowned. He hadn't particularly liked Sybille –except when she was arguing with Snape-, but he was starting to understand her a little. She was this determined, Slytherin woman –who cared she'd never went to Hogwarts? Harry could take the place of the Sorting Hat now, she _was_ in the House of Snakes- and she was really possessive about everything and ready rather to take everything in her own hands than let something she liked fall down while she was watching. Which meant, she was possessive with the Fal'sil and ready to kill to become Queen so she'd be sure everything was alright if an awful ruler was on the throne. Hopefully, this wouldn't be the case now… But how had the last King died? Harry wasn't sure he wanted to find out, but he hoped the causes were natural.

"Everything is really screwed, if you ask me, mate" Ron muttered towards him. "Where do all these elves and people keep coming from? They weren't here a few years ago and I'm quite sure that this is the first time Mum and Dad hear about them"

"It is indeed strange… I wonder what's happening" Hermione said

"The world is changing, maybe for the better, maybe for the worst" Amala replied. "I can feel it…" she stopped as the other three stared at her weirdly. "It's like an agitation on the background."

"I heard that!" Sania said loudly and Harry jumped. He hadn't realized that she was so close. Everybody in the room turned towards the half-elf and she smiled. "The world is changing indeed… Seers and warriors can feel it and some others probably can, too. Seers feel it because at their origins, they were the ones that saw the world as it was, the structures of the world. Today, much of that is lost, but they can still feel when the world is changing. And warriors, because they need to feel everything… And besides, us warriors are called to war now"

She paused dramatically and Harry asked her, wishing for her to continue:

"War? Who's calling you? What war? The one against Voldemort?"

"There is call, I do not know who's calling" she replied with a slight frown. "But I believe it is the world itself. It is agitating, stirring… I feel the urge to travel, to explore, to ready my weapons… My senses are on the edge, I am always ready to jump, although I am relaxed. It is not exactly a call to a place, it is a call to attention, readiness… It is warning: something will happen. It is a rain of courage over my head and I know that there is something much larger than my own plans and ideas going on. It is in the air, you can feel it if you're careful, it's like an earthquake, rumbling in the deep parts of the world. It eliminates laziness and tiredness and calls to agitation. Many old things will come to life, old gateways between worlds are opening, old alliances are forging again. In my dreams, at night, I fly towards a place I never get to, something is there calling. I know that if I get there, everything will be… not alright, but more wonderful and well than one could express in words."

"I can feel it too" Maxwell muttered as she stopped. "But I don't have the same gift with words. I wake up sometimes and rush outside to check the guards or I take a horse and gallop over the lands"

"We also feel it" Varamesh said with a smile. "Us elves are somehow Seers, but not the normal kind, and warriors. But we don't act the same as you do. I find myself hiding my tracks and walking so that I make even less sound than before. I find myself going in temples, I listen to priests and priestesses more carefully than ever. I listen to the sounds of birds and animals, try to figure out trees and plants… I become more and more like my ancients, a true elf. Because we hve fallen and only our priests and priestesses are the same. We have also turned towards cities, now we turn back towards nature. Some of us disappeared for years only to be seen from time to time."

"Fools" Sybille interrupted. "It's the Warrior's Call. It makes us all go towards our origins, towards our places of power. We're all Warriors here, aren't we? We all feel it. It becomes important to be powerful in soul. The world calls us and this is how we answer, because it calls us to be who we really are and to forget everything we pretend to be. Priests and priestesses always hear the calla and always follow it, that is why they are still the way they were so many years ago"

"Wisdom speaks from the young" Simnai said slowly. "Look at the witch, all of you. She knows more than we do. She is a priestess of her kind, like Nyuna and Saren are of our kind."

"I know not what you speak" she cut him off. "I'm a witch, that's all. One that has enough sense to look around and see everything like it is. You're too dreamy and lost in your own romantic descriptions."

"Gryffindors" Snape laughed. "That's why it's good to be a Slytherin, you have sense"

"And I suppose all Slytherins have sense, no?" Iris asked and Harry did a double-take. He hadn't noticed her come back.

"Of course" Snape replied with a small shrug.

"Including Crabbe and Goyle?" she asked and Harry started laughing. Crabbe and Goyle didn't have any sort of sense.

"All _typical_ Slytherins" Snape replied with an amused smile. "Which does not include those genetically disadvantaged specimens. But the great Salazar Slytherin had a lot of sense and also allowed the… gorillas… to be in our House. They are always needed in our plans, which sometimes include brute force and peons ready to sacrifice. After all, we can't risk ourselves, can we?"

Harry couldn't remember ever laughing because of something Snape had said –especially not in the man's presence-, but he was practically choking with it as _the_ Severus Snape said the last thing raising an eyebrow and in a very ironic intonation.

"I suppose not" Iris replied. "Alas, Severus, now I see why Hufflepuffs and Slytherins can never match… Slyhterins would sacrifice their own family if they had to"

"Would sacrifice if we _had to_? Family, especially annoying and stupid cousins or even brothers are our favorite tools" he drawled. "Now, don't get me wrong, if we are talking about beloved wives or parents or –God forbid- children, we will protect them at all costs"

"You're only saying that because Amala is here" Iris laughed.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I do not mean what I speak" he replied.

"Ah, so you wouldn't sacrifice her, hmm, Severus?" Iris asked with a smirk.

"No, and if she dared to give her life for me, I'd kill her myself" he replied and Amala started laughing next to Harry.

"Why, don't Slytherins always make sense?" Iris asked amusedly.

"They do, but Severus was supposed to become a Hufflepuff" Amala butted in, smirking. "That's why he's so loyal to his House and to me. Luckily, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs do match. That's why I could boss him around at the beginning of this meeting"

"What?!" Severus asked, gaping and Iris laughed.

"Well, she _is_ your girlfriend, Severus, I believe her" the beautiful woman said.

"Alright, before we completely mash the reputation of our House and Head of House, how about we end this meeting?!" Draco asked, getting up. "Jane, I thought you were going to see your kingdom?"

"Yes, that's right" Sybille replied with a smirk. "Come on, child, I wouldn't like to see Severus completely stepped on by his girlfriend two times today"

"I 'completely stepped' on you too, now didn't I?" Amala asked wickedly.

"That was just luck" Sybille replied. "Well, let's go! Fal'silians, elves, half-elves come on."

The afore-mentioned people and species all got up, sighing slightly. Jane looked at them with wonder.

"How do we travel?" she asked. "Because I somehow got the feeling that it won't be by Floo"

"O' course not!" Sania laughed. "We ride. On horses"

"I can't ride horses!" Jane complained.

"But we can and we'll carry you. It's easy" Varamesh said smiling towards her.

"For an elf perhaps" Sania muttered and shook her head. "It won't be easy on you for the first time, but you'll grow to love it in time"

Jane smiled at the half-elf and said her goodbyes to everybody. Then, the small group left, leaving nothing but their memory behind.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Sirius waited until the group was gone and then went to Amala with a frown.

"I want to talk to you" he said in a serious tone.

"Sure. What's wrong?" she asked, her innocent eyes looking at him questioningly. He really hated being so rough to her, but he would be, if he could wake her up to reality.

"You know I care about you a lot, right?" he asked with a sigh. "I only want your good"

"I know" she replied raising an eyebrow. "And I'll pretend that my mind didn't shift a little at the 'I really like you' part."

"That's what I want to talk to you about" the Animagus said.

"Oh, God, but you have Iris, please tell me this is _not_ what I think it is" she said in a desperate tone. "And I have Severus, you know…"

"Um, no, I don't like you that way" Sirius said with a small shake of head. That _hadn't_ come out right. "It's about you and Severus"

Amala's face shifted to discomfort in less than a second and he could see a part of her annoyance. Oops.

"I don't mean to tell you what many others probably told you" he slowly said. "But I believe that the age difference between you two is huge… I don't mind you being friends with him –although you are aware of my deep hate feelings for him-, but in a couple, age differences really should be smaller"

"I've been told that a thousand times" she replied with a small nod. "And yes, I agree, they _should_ be, but can I help it if I feel that he's right for me… now?"

Sirius sighed.

"This won't work out, you know" he muttered. "He's a grown man, with… physical needs…"

"He's probably been an abstinent for many years as I see it" Amala winked towards Sirius. "I think he can hold on a bit longer"

"Touche" Sirius replied. "But you might find out he's not exactly as you've pictured him. After all, no offence towards the House, but Slytherins are known to hide their true faces."

"For now, he has a very nice face" Amala replied with a small face. "Don't worry Siri. He might be trying to get into my pants lately, but otherwise he's being a great lover to have"

"He's trying to get into your pants?" Sirius frowned. "Don't let him"

Amala let out a small laugh.

"'Course not Sirius. Not now."

"Ok" Sirius said, raising a small eyebrow. "I'll take a 'not now' as a good sign…"

"But for the record" Amala said with a small smile "he's great when he tries to do it. Didn't know anybody could make me feel so good"

"Don't want to know that" Sirius replied and wanted to say something when he was patted on the back. He turned round very quickly, nearly knocking Iris down. "Sorry"

"No problem" she laughed. "Listen, Remus and I are going home. I see you're talking to Amala, so see you later"

"Bye" he replied and looked around. Everybody else had left, so he and Amala would be alone after Iris and Remus left. He turned back to the girl. "I really don't want to know that"

"Oh, Siri" she smirked. "He's not the same bastard with me as he is with you. He deeply hates and despises you, yes, but he never said it in front of me, knowing that I care about you. Actually, he can still be a complete prick when he wants to and he is still very witty, but he has a different style of doing it."

"I think you're blinded by love" Sirius muttered.

"Maybe" she replied. "But I know he'd never allow anything to hurt me and that he'd never hurt me. And that he's a bit pissed at me turning him down from time to time, but that's another story"

"He's _pissed_ at you for not allowing him to _sleep with you_?" Sirius asked, biting his lips. "That's not good, you know that? He should respect you and your decisions and _shouldn't_ push you…"

"No, gods!" Amala laughed. "He's pissed, yes, a bit, but he's not taking it out on me. He's rather sighing and rolling his eyes and gritting his teeth when I make up some new excuse to leave the room, but otherwise, he's being the same as always. Ok, bad way of putting it, but you get the point"

"But still he…" Sirius started commenting, but Amala cut him off.

"Wouldn't you be a _tad_ pissed if Iris kept saying 'no' every time you wanted to make love to her?" Amala asked with a smirk. "Or would you say 'it's ok, I respect you and your choice' and go on being happy and jolly? After all, how'd you put it?... 'grown up men have physical needs'?"

Sirius groaned loudly,

"Different thing" he replied.

"Not by much" she replied.

"It's wrong. It's not a good relationship for you… and a teacher and a student? It's just sick" Sirius pointed out.

"Don't agree there" she said with a wrinkle of her nose. "Teacher or not, he's still teaching me a lot of things that have nothing to do with Potions"

"Don't give me such mental images" Sirius groaned. "Please, Amala, break up with him! He's wrong for you. Hell, he's wrong for nearly anybody except that Sybille woman… and Cybil Trelawney. Now _there'd_ be a couple of strange, scary people"

"Sirius!" she cried and punched him in the chest.

"Ow!" he cried back, a twinkle in his eyes before he saw Amala's puzzled expression. "What?"

"You… you…" she muttered. "You're going to cheat on Iris"

"No" he frowned. "How can you say that?"

"I could feel it when I touched you" Amala replied shaking her head. "I can feel it… because you already want to. Who with, Sirius? And don't lie to me"

"I don't want to cheat on her" he replied and shook his head. "Really"

"But you felt an urge of lust towards somebody sooner. Who?" Amala asked. "Sirius!"

The Animagus bit his lip and looked straight in the girl's eyes.

"Sania the half-elf" he replied in a low growl. "But I don't want to cheat on Iris, really. It's a difference between a small fantasy and reality. How did you feel it?"

"I don't know" the girl replied with a shrug. "But you know I feel things sometimes" Then she smirked. "She's a lot younger than you too"

"There's a difference between a small fantasy and reality" he replied and frowned. "She's much too different from me…"

"Not true" Amala winked.

"And much younger"

"Not relevant" she smirked. "Look at me and Severus…"

"Stop" Sirius said seriously. "I don't care what I _felt_ for a second or two. It's irrelevant. I love Iris and I would _never_ cheat on her. But even if I wouldn't be with Iris, I still wouldn't go for Sania because it's simply not meant to be"

"Sirius" Amala said rolling her eyes. "I didn't really mean you should do it. I meant to say that it happens. If you loved her like you love Iris and the feeling would be returned, would you just say 'no, she's too young'?"

"Yes" Sirius said and his mouth went a bit sour. "Because it would be wrong"

"If Iris were a few years younger, would you say 'stop, it's wrong'?" Amala asked again.

"Stop. Just… stop" Sirius said, starting to feel uncomfortable. "You don't understand, do you?"

"I think it's the other way around, Sirius" Amala said and her eyes became a bit sadder. "I know I'm not even fully matured yet… and I know that the mentality is different between me and Severus, but we got over that, didn't we? It took a few good months before we really started trusting each other, but now we do"

"Amala… I don't want you to get badly hurt" Sirius said uncomfortably. "Snape… is not a very nice and gentle man. He could hurt you a lot if he wanted to"

"I know" she replied and he wondered if she really did. "But the good part is that I know he doesn't want to"

"Perhaps you are misreading signs" Sirius said slowly. "He might not love you, he might say that to get what he wants…"

"Then, let me propose something to you" she said and looked deeply into his eyes. "I feel very close to you, maybe it's because of the whole death-thing. I can confide in you. I'll tell you everything and won't invent anything that's not there. Then you can be my eyes where I don't see… and I swear to be completely honest if you can swear to understand and hold down your hate for him enough to judge things with your mind"

Sirius stared at her for a few seconds before asking:

"Tell me… everything?"

"Yes, you nut, everything!" she replied. "I don't know if I can offer this twice since I don't really like to reveal _everything_ in my personal life, but I want you to know. That way, you can help me, give me advice –and you better not advice me to kill him in his sleep- and stop worrying about me. But I want you to stop judging from your Snape-hating point of view. Can you do that?"

Sirius just stared at her a bit. He wanted her to give up on Severus and, instead, she was offering him every single detail of their relationship. He really hated the Slytherin, but, on the other hand, Amala wanted him to be there and she wasn't going to give up on her love –was it really love? He wondered- too soon. He wanted to guard her. So, what could he do? He had to bite back his hate and… accept.

"I can do that" he replied and she smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

"Thank you Sirius" she said and hugged him. "Should I… Should I start telling you about… everything?"

"Only if you want to" he whispered, wondering if he would be able to refrain everything as she spoke about him probably in praising and excusing tones.

So she started speaking. About how she'd seen him the first time at the table and was hit by a feeing of wonder towards the dark man, how she could feel sorrow and pain and hate from him and yet power and ambition and cunning and experience. How she could tell he knew much more than he let on and how she felt he was pushing everybody away from hate towards the stupid people of the world who lived in their own dreams. But how she'd also felt love towards some people. How she could somehow _see_ the connection between him and Dumbledore and a powerful spark of love towards somebody. It had been the most she'd ever Seen about somebody at first time and she'd been fascinated with the wonderful creature that lived somewhere under the bat costume.

Sirius flinched at the 'wonderful creature' words, but he didn't stop her from speaking forward. So, she spoke. And told him about her continuous fascination towards the Potion Master who was truly and really enjoying spinning around like a dragon in the classroom and making the students fear him because he felt he needed to be feared. Which was a true thing: he was somebody to fear. She'd noticed how he messed up with their minds, whispering words and calculating his next move so he'd terrify them. He was toying with the students that weren't from his own class, proving to them that they weren't the smartest people in the world. On the contrary, actually.

When she mentioned blowing up the classroom, Sirius snorted. Yes, he liked that part. A lot. She said she'd been really scared by his outburst then, but she'd noticed that he never touched her until she'd decided to get personal. Yes, she'd known from the very beginning that he wouldn't trust her and that she'd have to give up on many things to gain his trust. And that she had to be perfectly humble and never do anything stupid. Unfortunately, she'd dared joke about him as if she owned him when he'd been around. What followed made Sirius feel like he wanted to kill Severus, although he knew the story. She said she'd been stupid to cry like a complete idiot because she'd lost him instead of crying because he'd hurt her, but alas, she really _had_ been an idiot around that time.

She moved on with her story up to other times, when she'd gotten herself a voice. When he really realized he could trust her. When she'd gone around in the Forest and worried him half to death. How they'd fought…

"I really stood up for myself then" she smiled. "And I liked it. But his self-protection shields came up and he started to, eh, say things to hurt me. Needless to say I believed him. He was such a bloody git then, I should've hit him" she said and Sirius agreed forcefully.

Well, as far as Sirius could see until the end, they'd had a bumpy relationship. But she was somewhat ferocious. And a bit unrealistic, yes, but… Well, if the git hurt her, he'd die at the hands of an Animagus –and it sure as hell wouldn't be McGonagall-.

"But lately" Amala said "he's changing his way of being"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, on alert.

"He's acting much more… sexual than before. He's trying to get in my pants" she growled and Sirius shook his head.

"You mentioned that before" he said.

"Yeah… it's not that I'd mind too much" she muttered. "But it's… unusual. Odd. I don't know if I'm ready to move in that direction too much"

"Tell him that" Sirius said. "If he doesn't understand and tries anything…"

"Yes?" she asked curiously.

"Kick him right between the…" he started saying and she laughed punching him lightly.

"How about killing him in his sleep, huh Sirius?" she asked. "Would that suit you?"

"Just fine, thank you" he modestly said.

"Git" she said and rolled her eyes before shoving herself into his eyes. "Thanks for being here, Siri. And listening"

"No problem" he replied and sighed shortly. "I still hate the living hell out of him, but… I'm with you"

"I really appreciate that, Siri" she said and his hand got up to her hair and started petting her gently.

"No problem, no problem at all" he replied. "Now, I should be leaving, Remus and Iris must be eagerly expecting me. If you ever want to talk to me, you know where to find me"

"Thanks" she muttered as he got up.

"See you soon" he said and left towards the door.

"Bye" he heard behind him.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Amy?" she heard and looked over her book.

"Severus" she said smiling, shifting on the couch to let him sit down in case he wanted it. "What brings you here? A thirst for knowledge?"

The Potion Master looked around the library, enjoying the warmth for a few seconds before replying with a half-smirk.

"No, actually. I've read a lot of these books and I find that I can always read the ones I need in times of great boredom"

"Aha…" she said raising an eyebrow. "So, then, what _does_ bring you here?"

He stepped towards her, not answering and took the book out of her hands before she even realized he was doing it.

""_A Guide to the Unseen"_ by Miriam Cybil Wallace. It is true, then: most seers are called Cybil or Cassiopeia or Cassandra. But why would you be reading about the Sight? Not saying that it isn't one of the best books, of course."

"I think I have the Sight" Amala replied quietly. "Laugh all you want, but I think I might have something"

Severus, however, did not laugh. He smiled at her kindly.

"It might be possible, after all that's gone on" he told her.

"Sometimes, when I'm half asleep, I see people dressed in light of different colors. Your light –it surprised me- was red and blue, tinges of yellow… and darkish red, a color I didn't like. I'd have thought it would be dark green, but it isn't. There _was_ some green, but not all that much" she said slowly. "It only happens rarely, though, once or twice a year. And then, I sometimes _feel_ what will happen. Not explicitly, mind you, but still. Although I feel a lot of things that _are_."

"Seers of the present" Severus muttered. "They're not very known, since most people think that Seeing is all about the future, but they exist. So do Seers of the past."

"Well, I just thought I'd check and see what it's all about" she muttered. "But you still haven't answered my question…" she complained slowly and he just smirked.

"Perhaps I don't want to answer" he replied and she rolled her eyes.

"Just here to see me, aren't you?" she asked.

"Maybe" he replied. "Or maybe not"

"I'll find out soon enough" she said in a determined fashion and tried to pull him down on the couch. Unsuccessfully, of course. "Aw…"

"You'll have to do better than that to get me off my feet" he smirked and sat down elegantly next to her. "I could get you out of this room, if you were standing, and not sitting"

"How?" she laughed. "Picking me up, probably"

"Without even touching you" he replied with a smug smirk.

"Not possible" she stubbornly said. "I could stay here for half an hour and you couldn't get me out without touching me… or doing magic on me"

"I bet I could" he replied. "I won't even get my wand out."

"Let's find out" she said, getting up. His face suddenly grew thoughtful and he sighed.

"I don't think I _could_ do it, now that you're up" he replied slowly.

"Hah!" she smirked. "Told you…"

"But I know how I could get you _in_ the room if you were out" he replied thoughtfully. "Without even seeing you"

"Liar!" she laughed. "Are you trying to get me away from you?"

"No, just wanting to prove a point" he said slowly. "Are you up for that challenge?"

"Of course! You couldn't do it, no matter what" she replied with a snort and left the room. She could of course hear him start laughing, but she would _not_ be fooled by him. She then heard footsteps and he got out through the huge doors, eyes full of laughter.

"There! See?" he asked and she raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not inside" she said rolling her eyes.

"No, but you're outside" he pointed out and she stared at him before realizing just what he meant.

"What?!" she cried. "You bastard! You tricked me!"

"Of course my dear" he replied and laughed as she stormed to him and started pouncing him lightly on the chest. "Of course I did" he said in a lower, purring tone, making her look up in his eyes.

Before she knew it, his arms were wrapped around her and his lips were on hers kissing her. Well… To say his arms were wrapped around her was a bit untrue, as they were all over her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, parting from him.

"Kissing you" he replied and pulled her in a strong embrace.

She couldn't comment anything else since his lips were on hers again, but she was a bit scared. He'd started being so… passionate that she didn't recognize him. What had Sirius said? Besides kicking him between the legs?

"How about" he whispered softly in her ear "you sleeping in my room tonight?"

What was this? Subtlety? The question asked her in a very obvious way if she wanted to make love to him that night! Couldn't he be… a _bit_ more… different?

"How about not?" she replied with a glare directed towards him.

"Why not?" he asked and leaned down to kiss her neck.

"Because you're a bloody git, that's why" she replied. "Is this all you want from me now? My body?"

"What?" he asked, raising his head back up and letting out a laugh. "No, Amy. I really love you, I'm not going out with you because all I'd want… how did you put it?... from you is your body"

She eyed him suspiciously as he bowed down to kiss her again.

"I just happen to enjoy _being_ with a woman a lot" he admitted. "It's in my character"

"You weren't like this before" she frowned.

"I told you, I wouldn't have wanted to get any of us in trouble" he replied. "And I didn't trust you all that much at first"

"What if I told you I wasn't ready to go any forward?" she asked gulping slowly. Sirius had better be right. He'd _better_ pull back.

Severus sighed slowly and kissed her cheek gently.

"I was afraid you'd say that. Actually, to tell the truth, I'd have been surprised if you hadn't said it. You're not really the sexual type"

"And you are?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I happen to be, yes" he smirked. "A small warning: I'll try to corrupt you… Say 'stop' whenever you please, I don't mind"

"Ok. Stop" she said.

"I mean, when I'm actually doing something" he rolled his eyes. "Meanwhile, stop being so afraid, so scared. Just… let it happen. I promise I won't do anything o hurt you"

She eyed him suspiciously as he said that and leaned against the wall.

"I meant it when I asked you to sleep in my rooms tonight" he smirked. "I remember you doing it before and me liking it… Surely it wouldn't be breaking the limits, would it?"

Amala looked at him coldly and he sighed exasperatedly.

"I'm not being subtle…" he started.

"No shit, Sherlock?" she interrupted him.

"Meaning that I don't necessarily want to make love to you" he replied widening his eyes in mock exasperation and leaning down towards her neck. "It would be great" he kissed her slowly on the neck "yes" another kiss "but as long as you don't want it…"

"Well, I sure don't now" she replied and gasped slowly as one of his hands moved under her shirt.

"You have no clue what you're missing. I could give you a taste of it… without even getting you undressed… but you have to give in a little" he said and kissed her lips. "Stop being so stressed"

"Stressed? Why _should_ I be stressed?" she asked, glaring at him. "You're practically trying to do it with me now, on this corridor!"

"Gods, no" he sighed. "You didn't get my point. Please. Come into my rooms tonight. I could explain it better then"

She eyed him suspiciously and he sighed again.

"Do you trust me?" he asked slowly.

"I do" she replied and stared at him. "Just not now"

"I'd never hurt you" he whispered towards her. "Never. Please. It's just in my nature to act like I do. You can always turn me down, but I'm begging you not to do it now."

"Fine" she sighed finally. "I'll be in your rooms tonight"

"Thank you" he said and kissed her cheek. "Now, I must be going"

She just stared as he walked quickly down the corridors and she rolled her eyes. He just _better_ act nicely tonight or else.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Hello, Colt" Severus sighed collapsing on his armchair in his room.

"Severus, what a pleasure!" the wolf ironically said. "What's wrong?"

"Is it that obvious on my face that something's wrong?" the Potion Master amusedly asked.

"More than obvious" the wolf replied with a small chuckle. "Something about your young, pure, little dove?"

"Bingo" Severus replied. "Dear God, it is obvious"

"Yes" the wolf replied. "Very obvious. Not that I hadn't been spying on you two for awhile now"

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"A long, long time" Colt replied. "Hey! It's only for the best, if you want me giving advice, I should know exactly what happened, no?"

"Horrible, horrible creature" Severus moaned. "She's as scared as a... I don't know exactly as scared as what she is, but you get my point."

"As scared as a little rabbit chased under the full moon by a pack of twenty werewolves" Colt muttered slowly and then, catching Severus's look, asked: "What?!"

"Nothing" the man replied shaking his head. "What do I do?"

"Ask yourself what came over you to date such an odd, pure, innocent creature" the wolf suggested.

"Didn't mean the question that way" Severus said rolling his eyes.

"Well, she obviously has never encountered and never thought she'd encounter that side of you until just now. She's scared of everything and isn't sure she wants to move forward. Family's bad teaching and ideas, I must say. Calm her down, make her feel safe and then..."

"Then?" Severus asked.

"Corrupt her" the wolf suggested and the man laughed. "I mean it! Show her there's nothing wrong with anything, show her the great advantages of you being what you are and there! You have her in your arms."

"It must be family upbringing" Severus said, still laughing slightly. "She's indeed quite scared of me"

"Why, of course, my friend" the wolf replied. "Of course. Take her easy, though. She's not Monica, she doesn't know how much you can offer and she might even think there's nothing for her to gain."

"On the contrary" Severus muttered. "On the contrary..."

"Show her that, my friend" the wolf suggested. "Now, I'm going to eat something. Be careful!"

"I will be"

"Sure you will..." muttered Colt and exited the room.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Avery!" Voldemort said, steaming. "Have you found it yet?!"

"Yes, Master" the man replied. "Finally, after such a long and demanding..."

"Stop babbling" Voldemort said, frowning. "Where is it?"

"Here" he replied and took out a small necklace in the shape of a crow.

"Very good" his Master said and started walking towards the door.

"What about my reward, Sire?" Avery cried behind him.

"Reward?" Voldemort asked, his eyes ablaze. "You were very late."

"Master, but you promised..." the Death Eater said pleadingly.

"Very well" the snake-like man said with an awful smirk. "Very well. Your reward. _Crucio_!"

Before Avery could duck, he was hit by the spell and collapsed on the floor.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Jane looked up to see the city. It was... beautiful. Like a jewel, only muck larger and much more beautiful. It was huge and white and in the middle of a very green field, the type of which she didn't remember ever seeing. It was like another world.

"Wow…" she breathed, taking in the beauty of her city… Wait, it really was _her_ city!

"Welcome to your capital, my queen" Sania said, smiling at the girl benevolently.

"Rex tu es" Sybille said in an amused matter.

"She's a queen, not a king" Sania laughed.

"I was quoting" Sybille replied. "Your ancestor, Damien Chase" she told Jane, "first came to this city when he was 21. It was a fairly new city and he lived quite far from here. The city looked very impressive, even then. Damien was really pleased to see it and he told his companion, one of his councilors, that he was thrilled that the people there looked so happy. He was also shocked to see them offering him wonderful gifts. His councilor then said the exact words that I told you: "you are a king". It is said that only then did King Damien realize what exactly he was. And indeed, he became one of the greatest kings in our history, the last of the Chase line to rule the Fal'sil for real. He was referred to as King Damien or King Chase, people calling him by his name. And for his love of latin, he was often called Rex Damien, or even Rex Chase"

"So that would make me Queen Chase, right?" Jane asked with a small smile.

"Only if you earn it" Sania said with a wink. "Damien was called so because he was close to his people."

"Then, I wish to be like him" Jane said and together they galloped the last part towards the city. Indeed, riding a horse had come naturally... She was still nearly falling off the back of the horse, but still.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"My Death Eaters!" Voldemort said in a powerful voice. "I have here the key! After much hard work, I have managed to get it! Victory shall be ours!"

The Death Eaters cheered, all except for one who was shivering with pain, anger and thirst for revenge.

Avery was _not_ pleased.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

AN: Next chapter: Harry has his first kiss with somebody else than Cho, Harry has his birthday party, Amala cools down (I just so like Sev), Avery's mad, the Fal'sil greet their Queen... Sania suffers from a small problem, somebody's cheating on someone and well... long live the Authoress!

Replies to Reviews (with implicit thank you's to everybody):

Alcapacien: I'm really happy to see you like my story and I'm really soryy I'm not updating much, but I don't get to see the net too much… ;-) My comp broke down.

Inu-kokoro: ironic, indeed… So, yes, Sev's trying his best to get in her pants, but… she's really scared. No, if I were her, it'd be a completely different thing.

Soramiko: wow, what a long review! jumps around thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks. I really, really enjoy really, really long reviews –I enjoy all reviews, though- Now, since Amala and Sev are official, they _might_ just show themselves in public… from time to time.

Tsuetsu: Nice to know there really is somebody reading my lj. And really nice to know you liked the chapter :-D.

Marauder#3: I'm really glad you like my story… I'm doing all I can, but seeing that HP is _not_ my story (read all disclamers for more information ;-)), I tend to put in more of my fav characters… Not saying Sirius isn't among them, but he's back now and Harry will be, too. Promise.

GamingGuy84: Well, as you can see, I made Sirius your voice in this story. And I'm not taking it personally, although… I kinda end up with older guys, I realized. Not because I'm seeking them myself, but hey… Anyway, they'll be going back to Hoggie in… chp. 9 I guess. I still have some things to do with them before I get them to school (mwahahaha!)


	8. When Past Hits Us

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

Chapter 8: When Past Hits Us

Severus heard the knock on the door and smiled to himself as he walked towards it. That would be Amala, of course. It was a very good thing she'd accepted to come, maybe he'd manage to get her to calm down and relax.

He opened the door and smiled at the girl who looked at him nervously.

"Good evening, lovely to see you" he said amusedly.

"Good evening" she said in a way that spoke of distrust and stepped in his room. Severus closed the door and gestured to one of the armchairs in front of the fire.

"Let's sit down," he suggested.

"Let's" she replied and nearly stormed towards one of them and sat down. Severus snorted to himself and sat on the other.

"How are you?" he asked, a smirk on his lips.

"Fine. How are you?" she replied, frowning slightly.

"Oh, fine indeed" he said, stretching. "Please, relax. Make yourself at home"

"Yeah" she replied and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Why are you tense?" he asked, going along with his plan of going straight to the problem. He didn't know exactly what problem it was, but he would solve it.

"Because lately you've been acting like all you want is to get into my pants," she replied.

"You weren't worried about this part of our relationship before" he said.

"It just struck me that you _want_ me and Severus I can't make that step, really. Not now. I don't want to…" she was getting red as she started speaking faster and faster. Severus stopped listening to her and started watching her carefully instead. She was stressed.

"Amala…" he muttered.

"What?" she asked, stopping abruptly.

"Relax. I'm not going to jump on you," he said in a very calming tone. "I won't do anything you don't want me to do"

"Really?" she asked, sarcastically. "That's not how you've been acting, _Severus_"

"You're scared," he said slowly. "What are you so scared of? I won't hurt you, I swear. I know I've been… demanding lately, but you should know I am perfectly capable of restraining myself…"

"But do you want to?" she asked. "You don't seem to want to"

"Gods" he snorted slightly. "I know how I am, but truly, you cannot believe that I am willing to do you any harm, be it physical or psychical. Why do you have that feeling?"

"I know what men want, I'd just been hoping you wouldn't be demanding it like this. I hoped you'd be different from the majority in this aspect also, as you are in others, but no! You had to be typical male and… why are you laughing?!"

"How many men have you known closely, Amala?" Severus asked. "Truly speaking. What you're saying is what other women have planted into your mind, the public opinion… It could be formulated like this: women are used by men for sex. Always, no exceptions. Is that it? Is that your opinion on the matter?"

"Well…" she started, but he cut her off.

"And women are making a sacrifice for sleeping with men. That true? Really?"

"Well…" she started again, but again, he didn't let her speak.

"A true sacrifice, they don't even enjoy it, the women" he said and sighed slowly. "Is that what you think?"

"Of course not!" Amala said, revolted.

"You're acting like it" Severus said and smiled slowly. "Tell me about your parents"

"What?!" she asked, frowning. "What do they have to do with this?!"

"Probably more than you imagine. What did your mother tell you about relationships, what did your father tell you?"

"Well…" she started and looked at him, waiting for him to interrupt. But, ash he didn't, she continued. " My mum said always be careful, nice guys are one in a million, the others want other things… She kept saying that"

"Bingo" Severus said. "There's your problem. That message sunk in. You probably heard others of the type, and there you go: a lot of stress connected to this subject."

"Yes, but you're acting like a complete… a complete…" she protested.

"Come here" Severus said, stretching out his arms. "And for once, let yourself go, stop worrying. We'll do just what you want us to do. You may do whatever you want. Come here"

Amala stared at him with distrust for a few seconds before getting up slowly and walking really, really, slow.

"You better not…" she muttered and stopped saying anything. It didn't matter, though. He knew what she meant. Not betray her. And he wouldn't.

He waited patiently as she slowly covered the ground between them. She was uncertain, indeed, scared, ready to fight him. Well… she was of age, but she had a lot of problems. He hadn't thought it would be like that, but he'd wait for her to be ready… He'd help her on the way.

He smiled as she reached him and sat down on his lap, but she was still tense. It wasn't the time to scare her further, so he put his arms around her and held her. Slowly, she started relaxing in his arms and she leaned uncertainly against his chest.

"See? I'm not eating you alive," he kidded and she allowed herself to laugh slowly.

They stayed like that for a while and Severus couldn't stop smiling. She _was_ relaxing and she _had_ started trusting him a bit more. After awhile, he dared stretch his neck and plant a soft kiss on her lips.

"You know" he purred slowly "one woman told me once that women get most of the fun…"

"Would that have been Monica?" she asked and she tensed a bit.

"Yes…" he replied with a smirk. "But that's not very relevant right now"

"You're trying to get me to sleep with you," she said with a stern look.

"Well, yes, but that wasn't why I said it" Severus replied. "I said it so you'd relax and get curious"

"And sleep with you" she completed sternly.

"A most wonderful side effect" he smirked.

"Bastard" she muttered and shifted so she'd get off him.

"Hey" he said slowly. "Don't leave. Don't mind my throwing words here and there. And relax. If you're very nervous, laugh. It's a stress releaser, that one"

"Ha, ha" she said and glared at him. "Severus, please, stop trying to force me!"

"I'm not trying to force you" he replied calmly. "Convince you to relax enough to enjoy yourself even if not much over the usual happens, yes, but force you, never"

"So show me," she said. "Show me what you like so much. I for one…"

"There speak your old beliefs" Severus gently spoke. "Relax, Amy. I have absolutely no clue how come this hasn't surfaced earlier, but we'll see what we can do"

She glared at him but didn't reply as he kissed her neck gently. He wouldn't pus it too far… just do what he usually did wit a tinge of something new. Like trying to get her to forget what she believed.

At first, she was reluctant to participate, but soon, as she discovered he was only kissing her, like he did in the past, she started replying, soon getting to her usual enthusiasm when it came to kissing. It was odd indeed that she'd have mental blocks on the further parts. Those parents and friends of hers must have really been very against going far in physical relationships. He'd have to change her thoughts about that.

So, how about a bit of humor?

"Now, get undressed" he said as he broke the kiss.

"What?!" she nearly cried as soon as her brain registered his words.

"Just kidding" he replied with a huge smirk. "Although, if you want to, I don't mind"

"You're crazy," she said, frowning.

"Of course" he replied and moved back to her lips. As soon as she saw he really hadn't meant it –which was soon enough-, she smiled. Good, she was calm and relaxed now. And he would make sure she'd feel that way as much as possible. So, it was only after many minutes that he let his hands start moving on her back and up to her shoulders, then down in a pattern of some kind. And judging by the fact that she hadn't killed him yet, she was enjoying it. He _had_ done that before, but right now he wasn't sure she wouldn't snap at him for nearly no reason.

And after awhile, he slowly pulled at her shirt and got it out of her pants.

"What are you doing?" she asked, staring at him slightly.

"The same thing I'd done until now" he replied and slid his hands under her blouse on her back. "It feels better to have skin on skin than skin on clothes, you know."

After a short moment, she just let it be as it was and returned to her previous occupation…

It wasn't in its place to do more on that night, so, at about one o'clock in the moment, he pointed out the time to her and told her they should sleep. She smiled slightly and replied she'd be going back to her room.

"Why?" he asked amusedly.

"Because I haven't got any pajamas here," she pointed out.

"Aren't your clothes very comfortable? They look so," he asked nearly innocently.

"Yes they are" she replied and sighed slightly. "But I can't possibly sleep here…"

"Why not?"

"The others will think that we… we… um… slept together" she said slowly.

"That's what will happen," he laughed. "We'll sleep… together."

"You know what they'd think," she growled at him. "Don't give me that I'm-so-innocent-it-hurts tone, it really doesn't fit you!"

"But let them think whatever they want" Severus said with a smirk. "After all, the truth will remain the same, no matter what they think"

"Yes, but I don't want trouble" she said.

"You won't have any more trouble than you already have. I guarantee to you that Draco knows you're here and he'll say we _did_ make love. God knows we'd had enough time" he replied, deciding to point out to her that anyway, it was the same thing.

Amala sighed exasperatedly, but nodded and got up from his lap. He got up himself and guided her to the bed. She lied down first and watched him walk elegantly to the other side of the bed and lie down.

"Aren't you going to get into your pajamas?" she asked, eyeing him weirdly. He laughed slightly.

"These are some very elegant pajamas. I know they're silk pants and that the blouse seems elegant… but… anyway, the robe goes down" he said and got the robe indeed off him and she could see that indeed, only the robes and the shoes were what had prevented her from believing he was dressed for going out.

"Nice pajamas" she said and he laughed.

"I know"

He moved towards her and put her arms around her in an embrace.

"Goodnight, love" he muttered towards her and he could feel her smile against his chest.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Long live queen Jane Chase!"

"Long live the queen!"

Jane smiled at her people… and they truly were _her people_, weren't they? They were clothed in interesting clothes that seemed to be very comfortable and yet very elegant. Maxwell had galloped fast ahead of them, speaking of their coming and apparently, the Fal'sil were excited. It was odd to see them, as nice as they would seem in fairy tales, and yet she could see they were modern somehow, but they were crying their welcomes to her. She felt like a queen all right.

They walked towards the castle that Sybille and the others seemed to know, but she couldn't see from there. Perhaps it was a small castle?

"How far is the castle?" she asked her companions.

"Not far" Sania said with a smile. "You see, the whole city, seen from the distance, seems to be on a hill. It is not. The buildings are built in such a way that the tallest ones are in the middle… and the castle is the tallest of them all. It is an interesting idea… Your castle is great, greater than Hogwarts, but not as full of mysteries. In it live two thousand people and there are guest rooms for one thousand more. It's three times Vatican. Your rooms are great, huge… One whole house could fit in them. You can choose your personal servants as all kings and queens did. Now, you will _not_ be dressed and bathed, but if you desire it, some maidens can assist you."

"What do you mean, assist me?" Jane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That means you can gossip while in bath," Varamesh said and the others laughed.

"Close enough to the truth" Sania said. "As a queen, this city is the first thing you will rule. The rest of the country has governors, but you can rule whatever you like. Be careful what you do, though. Oh, and in case of war, you will rule the army, or assign its leaders. You will learn how to fight, you will learn about politics and external affairs. You can also assign ambassadors to any other worlds or countries. Do _not_ offend anybody, that's the first rule."

"You will learn our allies and enemies" Sybille started speaking. "You will learn about our economy, our educational system, immigrating, emigrating, you will negotiate for whatever needs the kingdom might have with other kings, queens, with presidents or ambassadors. You will find that there are worlds we have nearly no contact with…"

"So, I have to take care of everything that's on large scale" Jane said and gulped. "Sounds bad"

"Well, it is bad" Sybille admitted. "But you have a Council with members you are allowed to change, a viceroy and all that. And we will teach you some things, so you're not completely hopeless"

"Thanks. I guess" Jane said.

They stopped speaking as Maxwell came galloping in front of them.

"The Council has been called," he announced. "And your majesty, you are awaited"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Amala woke up and looked up from the black-sheeted bed, seeking for Severus. Of course, he wasn't there. It figured, though, that he didn't need as much sleep as a normal human being. But he could've waited for her!

She got up from the bed and stretched. She could use a shower and a change of clothes.

"Morning, sunshine" she heard and jumped.

"Who's there?" she asked, grabbing the first thing she found in her hand.

"Me" came the reply and Colt jumped on the bed and Amala breathed out and let the pillow she just realized she'd grabbed fall down. "Severus woke up at about five a.m., he doesn't need too much sleep. None of the Snapes ever did, except Harold Clive Snape, but he lived about one hundred years ago and he wasn't your typical Snape."

"So, Severus is a typical Snape?" Amala asked.

"Yes, you could say so" Colt grinned. "A typical Snape who's fallen in love with a very typical pure, innocent beautiful girl."

"I'm not innocent," she said, gritting her teeth.

"Yes you are… Childish, a bit. He doesn't mind, though" the wolf laughed.

"Shut up!" she cried and jumped on him with all her might, trying to take him down.

"Cub, cub… no, don't tickle! Aaaa!" Colt said, laughing nearly as bad as Amala did. "Stop, for the name of the Mooooooooooooooon!"

The howl made Amala cover her ears, so Colt managed to escape her. Amala sighed and rolled her eyes desperately and looked at the playful wolf that was watching her from one and a half meters away.

"Oh, God, Colt, couldn't you choose _another_ way of escaping? I think I'll be hearing that howl forever from now on."

"It worked, didn't it?" he playfully asked her.

"I guess it did" she replied and thought for a while. "Colt, please, if you could tell me something"

"Anything, cub" he replied and lied down.

"Could you tell me about Monica? And how Severus acted with her?" she asked seriously and Colt stared at her a little.

"Did you ask Severus about her?" the wolf asked, although he seemed to know the answer.

"Yes… But he didn't tell me much. Please, Colt, tell me about her. He seems to still be in love with her… he said he still thinks he loves her… a little" Amala begged.

"Cub…" Colt said slowly. "If Severus hasn't said anything, perhaps it's for a good reason, what do you think?"

"But really, I want to know about her, she's a great part of his life, I see… Please, Colt?"

"There's a small problem" Colt said and looked straight at her, seriously. "Do you want to know everything about her because he cares about her and you want to be with him and support him and all that, or because you're jealous and threatened by her?"

"The first one, I swear!" Amala said pleadingly.

"Monica is and was a great part of his life, but you shouldn't feel threatened by her. He loves you and he's very faithful to his friends… even if he doesn't seem to be. Although…" Colt said and stopped abruptly, thinking hard about something.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, come to think of it, it wouldn't threaten _your_ relationship with Severus… but…"

"But what?!" she asked.

"Well… perhaps I shouldn't be telling you this" Colt said and gave her a sheepish smile.

"What shouldn't you tell me? I can bear anything! It's a promise, Colt!" she said, her eyes steely.

"Well… You see… Huh… if Severus still has feelings about her, and she still has feelings for him… then… who knows? They might go back together again," the wolf said coughing slightly.

"How could that _not_ threaten my relationship with him?!" Amala nearly cried. "If he's going back to her, then…"

"Just a theory!" Colt said quickly. "And besides, God knows he'd tell you about it and I think he'd be telling you that the two of you can still be together, despite Monica. And she would accept you being with Severus, so from that side it wouldn't be a problem"

"Double date? What a jerk" Amala said biting her lip.

"Jerk?" Colt laughed. "No, I don't think so. He'd probably treat you even better, trying to make up for the less time he'd have. Don't judge him for it… If you said no, he'd stop going out with Monica… But in your shoes, I wouldn't do it"

"He'd never let me hear the end of it, right?" she sarcastically asked.

"He'd never say a word about it… But he wouldn't be completely happy. He'd still treat you as he does, but he'd be maybe a bit sadder for a while. You'd get your wish… but would you want it to be that way? If you accept, he'd be very happy… But of course, this might never happen. After all, it's only a 5 chance of it happening, or something like that"

"Whatever" Amala said, sighing slowly. "I'm going back to my room"

/-/-/-/-/-/-

Harry was outside the Manor, lying down on a bench. It was a wonderful summer day and his birthday would come soon. Perhaps he'd even get some attention! That would be a first since Hagrid came to visit him…

He heard footsteps nearing and opened his eyes to see Luna next to him.

"Hi, Harry" she said dreamily. "How are you?"

"Uncomfortable" he truthfully replied and got up to sit in a normal position, making Luna giggle.

"Can I sit?" she asked and he nodded. She circled the bench and sat next to him. "Professor Snape has quite a nice house. I think I even spotted some viriats."

"What are viriats?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, they're some really interesting creatures" she replied smiling at him. "They live in really old manors and castles and protect it from intruders. They stay mainly hidden, but when they come out…"

Harry smiled at her. Maybe the creatures were real, maybe they weren't, but either way, it was nice hearing Luna speak about them as if they were definite reality.

"How do they look like?"

"A bit like pixies" she replied frowning a little. "That's why people say they don't exist, that they're just some pixies that seem a bit different… They have more human faces than pixies though and they can be very good friends with the house owner… I know! Let's go ask Professor Snape if he really has them or if I confused something with them!"

"I think he'd rip our heads off if we asked that" Harry said amusedly.

"Maybe, but it's worth it!" she said with a wink. "Come on!"

She jumped up excitedly, shooting Harry a huge grin and grabbing his hand.

"Well, come on!"

Harry laughed as they started to run towards the Manor. Just imagine the look on Snape's face when they'd ask him!

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Severus felt pretty relaxed as he read a potion book in the library. Amala had started to make a bit of progress in relaxing, maybe soon she'd act as she really wanted to, not how she had been told would be right. He had felt her react to him before and he'd felt she was pretty willing to go further, but then he'd collapsed straight into the walls of many, many blocks… and he'd been too pushy, only making the walls thicker.

But now, he was gently removing those walls… Soon, she'd be able to judge more clearly and then…

The door opened and a giggling Luna Lovegood followed by an also giggling Harry Potter came through. He raised an elegant eyebrow and spoke:

"Perhaps, Mister Potter, if you were dating a more _typical_ Ravenclaw, you'd realize that a library is a place of peace and study, _not_ a place to be dragged in by your girlfriend in an attempt to get some privacy"

Potter blushed and let go of his girlfriend's hand. Severus's eyebrow rose even higher. So, new relationship? This could get… interesting.

"Actually, sir, it was you we were seeking" Lovegood said and a smirk crawled up the Slytherin's lips.

"I have no doubt at all, Miss Lovegood," he said in his most sarcastic tone. "Potter, stop thinking about my _lover_"

Ah, he'd hit home, indeed. He didn't need to be a Legiliment to tell that once again, Harry Potter had asked himself how Amala could possibly go out with him.

"Um… yes, sir" the teen replied and Severus smirked. "So, Miss Lovegood, I can't _possibly_ tell why you were searching for me."

"I wanted to ask you, sir, whether you had viriats in your house?" she asked and smiled at him, having that dreamy look in her eyes she usually had.

"Pray tell, what _are _viriats?" he asked. The girl always asked of inexistent creatures, objects and whatnot. Everybody knew that. And for the love of God, was she wearing _radishes _as earrings?

"Guardians of manors and castles" she replied. "They look like pixies with some differences."

Severus dropped his mask for a second in surprise. Yes, he had those. He had no clue what they were called, but they were there for a very long time. Had finally the Dreamer of the Ravenclaws asked about a creature that actually _existed_?

"Yes, there are some pixie-like creatures in my house that I have read guard the house they live in."

"They're called viriats" Luna replied with a huge smile. "People don't believe in them, they aren't very common and they only appear when they want to appear."

"So I've heard," Severus replied thoughtfully. "Could you tell something more about them?"

"They can befriend the master of the house if they wish to and he's like they'd want him to be. I thought you probably know them very well, sir, you seem like the kind of a house master that befriends them"

"Do I?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yes, sir" Luna replied.

"No, I've never spoken to them" Severus replied. "But if you wish to, you have my permission to speak to them"

"Thank you sir!" she said excitedly, grabbed Potter by the hand and dragged him out of the library. Kids these days, they were nuts... Severus shook his head and tusked slowly as he continued reading his book.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Jane felt… intimidated. She had stepped into a room full of all kinds of noble people that were staring at her from around the table. She suddenly felt even smaller than before and could feel everybody's eyes on her. There was not a sound as she entered and gulped noiselessly. Dear God. Was everybody there watching her?! Couldn't they… mind their own business? _Not _watching her?

She could see the _huge_ throne on one side of the table and she just _knew_ she'd be the one sitting in it, looking terribly small and young and inexperienced. Which she was, by the way!

"Her majesty, queen Jane Chase of all Fal'sil!" Maxwell announced and the quietness was preserved. She'd have rather had tones of applause. Instead, the quietness seemed to deepen as said Maxwell led her to her throne. She felt as if he were her father, taking her to sit for dinner. Hell. It was _terrifying_. How would she rule a whole kingdom when just a room full of people scared her to hell?

She sat down on her throne feeling awfully scared and tried to look brave and royal while knowing she probably failed miserably. Everybody seemed serious and concerned and she… she was just a kid, for God's sake!

"Queen Chase, these are the members of your Council" Maxwell announced and she smiled to him and nodded slowly. Duh. He'd already said she'd be meeting her Council. However, he _hadn't_ mentioned how serious and _old_ they all were. And how _royal_.

"Some of us are _not_ in the Council, milord," a woman who Jane immediately didn't like said with a horrible smirk.

"Yes, well…" Maxwell said and smiled with a small blush. "I'm not in the Council, your majesty. Neither are Sania Demonheart or Varamesh or Simnai the elves."

"Sybille, you are in the Council, am I correct?" Jane asked. Somebody she knew _had_ to be in the Council, no? Even if it was the dark witch.

"Yes, I am" she replied and watched the woman with despite in her eyes. Jane started to really like Sybille.

"Also, lord Molnar and lord Kenden are not in the Council" Maxwell said. "Anybody else?"

Nobody said anything and Jane watched Maxwell questioningly.

"Who are the aforementioned lords?" she asked, watching everybody. There seemed to be about fifty people in the room and she couldn't tell whom the two guys were to save her life.

"Pardon the viceroy's son, your majesty" the woman said "he tends to be a true peasant sometimes"

"I do not understand" Jane said narrowing her eyes slowly. "Why would I pardon him? Has he done anything wrong? I for one cannot see anything and… peasant you say? I should be telling you then, milady, that sometimes peasants have more heart and intelligence than nobles. Yes, it is a very good praise for him, I shall remember it"

Oh, good, she was in her kingdom for less than a day, she had met the Council for the first time and… she was already fighting with one of the members. Yep, she was doomed. She looked around to see that Sybille was smiling at her seeming for the first time to really like her and that most of the people were smirking. The woman seemed to be a bit pissed.

"Lord Molnar" Maxwell said and one of the man stood up and bowed a little in front of the young queen "is the ruler of the city of Red Fox. You will find that most of the cities have animal names, your majesty."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, lord Molnar" Jane said smiling at him as queenly as she could. "And lord Kenden?"

"It is I" one man who looked a lot like Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings said and stood up. "I am the ruler of the city of the Dragon, like most of my ancestors."

"You truly look like a king and ruler, lord Ara… Kenden" Jane said and smiled at him too"

"The rest of the people here you will get to know in time" Maxwell said and smiled at her. "It is not the time and place here to tell you all about them, but you will be told shortly. Their paintings are hanged on the walls of a room not far from him for technical reasons"

"Meaning that" the annoying woman spoke up again "the old king was not clever enough to remember us all"

Jane really disliked her.

"There are fifty of you. I think I'll be needing the paintings for a while, no offence to anybody," she said and some people in the room smiled.

"Very well then" the viceroy said –or at least Jane assumed he was the viceroy. He looked a lot like Maxwell and he was sitting right next to her. "Let's inform her majesty of her duties and let us establish a teaching schedule for her."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Come on, Hermione, help me with this balloon, please!" Ron said and Hermione sniggered. She'd somehow found a spell to make balloons blow themselves up. Of course, Ron couldn't use it to save his life. And of course, tomorrow was Harry's birthday and they had to have everything done.

"Really, Ron" she said, rolling her eyes and pointing her wand at the limp balloon. With a quick spell it went big and round. "It's a good thing we started doing this today, I don't want to think what would have happened if we'd started tomorrow"

"Luna would have to distract him all day long tomorrow, that's what," Amala laughed. "You know, perhaps I should be telling Severus we'll be giving Harry a small party tomorrow."

"You didn't tell him?!" Ron asked, his eyes suddenly going large. "What are you nuts?! He'll kill us!"

"No he won't" Draco answered and everybody turned their eyes towards him. "After all, could he resist his _lover_?"

"Lover?" Amala asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes…" Draco replied evilly. "Haven't you heard? He called you so when he talked to Harry and Luna"

"Did he?" she said, frowning slightly.

"The exact quote was 'Potter, stop thinking about my _lover_'" Ginny said rolling her eyes at Draco. "He was toying with us a bit"

"So, I'm his _lover_" Amala said, shaking her head. "Unbelievable"

"Oh, don't get it wrong, Wright. We all think that your relationship is pure and innocent" Draco joked and got hit in the head with a balloon and started laughing even harder.

They all laughed at the two and continued blowing balloons and levitating them near the ceiling in the medium sized room they'd chosen for Harry's birthday. The room was in the old side of the house where they were quite sure Snape wouldn't interrupt anything.

"How about a little music, while we're preparing?" Neville suggested and Hermione smiled at him.

"That'd be a great idea" she said and took out her wand, but somebody was quicker than her. A _veni cantus_ was muttered and a song by the Weird Sisters was put on.

"Dedicated to Hermione Granger" she heard and turned to see a grinning Ron. "_'The heaven's goddess' _by the Weird Sisters"

She smiled as she listened to the music, which was really nice. Who knew Ron had good taste in music?

"What if Harry comes around here?" Ginny asked. "It really wouldn't do for him finding us now…"

"He's out with Luna, remember?" Hermione said with a smirk. "I wonder how long it'll take for him to figure out that she likes him."

"What? Luna and Harry? Ugh" Draco said, making a grimace. "Weird and weirder"

"Watch it, Draco" Ginny said, whacking him not too gently on the arm. "You're talking about two of my greatest friends here, you know"

"Right" he said, nodding quickly nearly with a terrified look before smirking at her.

"Oh, I'd better go and announce Severus that we're having a mini-party tomorrow" Amala said, levitating her balloon quickly –and smacking it against the ceiling-.

"What if he refuses to let us do it?" Neville asked and Amala smirked.

"I said I was going to _announce_ him we're doing it, not asking him if we could"

With that, she left quickly and the others, except for Neville, sniggered.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Jane was in her very comfortable bed, only half sleeping. She'd woken up about fifteen minutes ago, but she hadn't had the heart to get out of bed. She was the queen of the Fal'sil… and she was lazy. Plus, her bed was very comfortable. Very, very comfortable and very, very nice. And she was tired. She'd met half the kingdom the previous day –or at least, it'd seemed like it.

After the abnormally long meeting with the Council, she and Sybille had started getting along much better… and that annoying woman, Cecilia she'd found out her name was, was still very annoying. It had turned out that she was a representative of the lower social classes who had a terrible dislike for nobles and especially royalty. As soon as Jane had found out she could replace the members of the Council, she decided she'd replace her a.s.a.p.

"Your majesty!" she could hear that awfully cheerful voice from the side of her bed and groaned. "Time to wake u-up!"

"Ten more minutes, Isabelle!" she groaned.

"No more minutes, young Mistress, you need to wake up and have a breakfast with some of you advisors"

Jane turned towards the old Isabelle who treated her as if she were a child –which she knew she still was, but…-

"Isabelle, I don't fancy a long, boring breakfast with many boring men!" she said. "My first action as a queen this morning is therefore kicking you out of my rooms, and then lying ten more minutes in bed and then getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, going outside and towards the stables, getting myself a horse and practicing riding. Only then will I go to the kitchens to eat something and then… I'll see"

"Oh, no, little lady" the old woman chirped, much to Jane's annoyance. "You must follow the tradition, no matter how much you may be annoyed"

"I'm going to have a shower" Jane sourly said and added in her mind: 'And later, I'll summon my Basic Council, the most important members of the Council and see what changes I can make'.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"We're finished!" Hermione said, grinning. "And thank God Luna's kept Harry busy, I have no clue how we'd have explained everything to him, like where we disappeared off to. Now we can pretend we were looking for him, but couldn't find him!"

"A very good thing" Ron nodded. "Wouldn't like him to go bananas on us, now would we?"

"Oh, by the way, Amala, how did it go with Snape?" Draco asked.

"It went just fine" she smiled wickedly. "Nothing to worry about from him."

Draco frowned and then smirked at her.

"Is that an 'I-managed-to-put-him-down-on-his-knees-and-proved-my-point' wicked smile, or a 'he-didn't-want-to-accept-at-first-and-I-gave-him-something-in-return' wicked smile?"

"The first" Amala said glaring at him.

"Aw…" he groaned.

"Let's go find Harry!" Neville jumped in before it would turn into a war and everybody agreed full heartily.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Luna and Harry were on the shore of Snape's lake, Luna having thrown some type of bait in the water –some fruits of some flowers they'd have found earlier in the garden- and they were waiting patiently for some other of Luna's perhaps non existent creatures to rise up and eat them. Harry really gave her credit: for somebody who only had maybe 1 of her world real, she was very optimistic and maybe even a bit realistic?

"Well, it seems Professor Snape doesn't have them" she said, wrinkling her nose. "But it doesn't really matter, it's nice to wait for them anyway"

Harry smiled at her as she turned towards him, her eyes sparkling slightly.

"Oh, and Harry?"

"Yes?" he asked amusedly.

"Did I ever tell you how much I liked you?" she asked as if it were the most normal thing to ask in the whole world. Harry suddenly blocked and blinked in surprise.

"Uh…" he managed to get out in reply.

"Because I do" she said and smiled again at him, before turning back to the water. "Hey, look! There are some fish that started eating the fruit! Come and see!"

Without even realizing he did so, Harry got up and walked to the water. Indeed, some wonderfully colored fish were eating the fruits.

"I wonder where they were until now" Luna mused. "Oh, well…"

Harry just stared at her before managing to ask:

"When you say like me, you mean-"

"I'm in love with you" she replied dreamily, still watching the fish. "Hey, look at the big one!"

Harry quit on trying to understand her and looked at the water. Indeed, the big fish was fighting off the others. So… Luna liked him? As in,_ liked_ him? Which were the odds?

Apparently big, he knew, but still… What should he do now? Maybe he should ask Hermione for help. And was this 'by the way, I really like you' thing typical female behavior? He frankly didn't think so, but Luna wasn't your typical female either, was she?

"Guys!" he heard and turned to see the others. That was odd, he hadn't seen them all day and it _was_ his birthday.

"Hi!" he said, glaring at them. "Where…"

"Finally, we found you!" Ron said, nearly running. "Luna, where'd you hide him all day?"

"I didn't hide him," she said, frowning. "But why?"

"It's his birthday, that's why!" Draco said with a smirk. "Or… you didn't know?"

"Really?" she asked, turning towards Harry. "Happy birthday, Harry!"

"_Now_ she finds out" Ron rolled his eyes. "Happy birthday, mate"

Harry grinned as all the others wished him a happy birthday. So, that's why Luna had kept him with her all day: she'd had no clue it was his birthday! He just sighed and smiled slightly at Luna. He really couldn't hold it up against her, now could he?

"Come on, mate, we got the house elves to cook you a cake" Ron said and grabbed Harry by the hand, dragging him towards the Manor.

"Really?!" Harry asked, beaming.

After a very quick march across the grounds of the Manor, they entered the building itself and, to Harry's surprise, they started walking through the old part of the house.

"No offence, but where are we going?" Harry asked.

"You'll see!" Amala said, beaming herself.

And, of course, in no time, they ended up in the party room, thing which made Harry nearly fall from his feet.

"Wow…" he muttered, seeing the huge 'happy birthday, Harry!' hanged by the ceiling and the tone of balloons and the snacks on the table and… well… everything. Hermione smiled at him as she put on some music, apparently having a radio with her.

After the first shock the party started warming up and soon Harry found himself enjoying the first birthday part of his life. After awhile, to his even greater surprise, Sirius, Remus, Iris and some others dropped by, wishing him a happy birthday and sinking him in gifts. It was extraordinary, everybody was feeling great, Snape didn't drop by…

Also, at one point in time, he found himself invited to dance by Iris, and then Luna. Then, he found himself invited to sit down and relax as he had involuntarily tested one of Fred and George's products and the twins had to remove his horns –which officially made him a small devil-.

At about midnight, they all gathered around and sang 'happy birthday', even Snape coming in through the door and watching with something in his eyes that truly couldn't be deciphered. Then, they cut the cake and Amala even gave the Potion Master a piece of it, as he bowed his head slightly before saying a quick 'happy birthday, Mr. Potter' and leaving the room with the cake in his hands.

Then, Harry opened his presents, which were a lot of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products and a few books about various topics, socks and t-shirts and tones upon tones of sweets and a very interesting bracelet from Luna.

It was only late at night that they went to bed –and Sirius and the others went back to their home-, and even then, the impermanent residents of Snape Manor insisted in having a pajama party. Where he had the chance to talk to Hermione about something that had been concerning him for many hours.

"Listen, Hermione" Harry said slowly while the others were chatting among each other. "I wanted to ask you something"

"Shoot, Harry" she replied, smiling at him happily, although tiredly.

"Luna has a crush on me," he said in a low tone, watching that everybody was talking with somebody else.

"You figured it out?" Hermione asked, surprised. "I'm amazed by you, Harry. Really"

"Um…" Harry said, suddenly feeling rather like an idiot. "No, I didn't. She told me she did"

"Pardon?" Hermione asked, looking over to Luna with lack of respect in her eyes. "What exactly did she say, Harry?"

"Well, her exact words were…' Did I ever tell you how much I liked you?'" Harry said and Hermione snorted.

"How classy" she said.

"But what do I do?" Harry asked pleadingly. "Please, Hermione, tell me! I have no clue how to act"

"Do you like her?" the bushy haired girl asked with a soft sigh.

"I don't know" Harry replied truthfully. "I guess…"

"Well, then, say something to her" Hermione said, pushing him slightly. "Not now, it's not a good time. But tomorrow or sometime"

"What? What should I say to her?" he pleaded. "Come on, don't let me down!"

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You know Harry… never mind. You're even worse than Ron, you know. If she was your normal girl, I'd say you should say something like how you love the way she looks, how she shines like a star… that sort of things. Then, you could try taking her hand… but she's _not_ a normal girl, so I say anything you do would be alright. Just be yourself, ok?"

"Sure" Harry replied, watching Luna from the corner of his eye. "Thanks for the advice… I guess"

"No problem, Harry" she replied. "Although I didn't give any"

The party lasted well into the night before they went to bed.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Lord Kenden!" Jane said, seeing the Aragorn-type man in front of her on the corridors.

"Lady Chase" he smiled.

"Please, call me Jane" she said with a beam.

"Very well, milady" he said with a small bow. "Where to at this early hour? Shouldn't you be having breakfast with your advisors?"

"Don't remind me," she muttered. "That's a habit around here that needs to be changed. And why do I need advisors? Isn't the Council more than sufficient?"

"The advisors are there for your persona, they will tell you how to act in society, how to break alliances, how to…" he started saying amusedly, but Jane cut him off.

"I get it, I get it," she said with a small roll of her eyes.

"I consider them useless. My first act as the ruler of Dragon was to dismiss the advisors. Bunch of old coots," he said and Jane grinned.

"Oh, I must do it also. And change Isabelle for someone else who doesn't treat me like a child" Jane said thoughtfully.

"My dear, you _are_ a child," Lord Kenden pointed out playfully.

"Really, milord?" she asked with a not very happy look on her face. "I hadn't realized. But if you like to protect her so much, will send her to you"

"Gods, no!" he laughed. "So, where _are_ you going this time of morning, if not to your breakfast?"

"Out for riding training" Jane laughed. "It's more fun. Then I can go to the kitchens and grab something to eat"

"You're truly my kind of a queen" Lord Kenden stated. "I can see you having a will of your own, a wise judgment and, of course, a lack of respect towards social habits of kings and queens prior to you"

"I'm starting to really like you" Jane smirked. "Would you like to join me for my ride?"

"It's not that I have something better to do" he said with a small shrug. "And I can show you around. My great, great grandparents on my mother's side lived here and I used to come to Eagle's Den a lot"

"Great, great grandparents?" Jane said amazedly "and what'd Eagle's Den?"

Lord Kenden looked at her and gaped before he started laughing so hard that some servants that were walking down the corridors turned to stare at him.

"By the Queen's scepter!" he said and started laughing again, even harder.

"Lord Kenden?" Jane asked "something wrong?"

Finally picking himself up, the man fancied an answer.

"You know, I just realized you were the queen in 'by the queen's scepter,'" he said. "It's an expression used a lot here, 'by the king's scepter' or 'by the queen's scepter', either is alright. So, you don't know what Eagle's Den is?"

"No" she replied with a frown.

"Your majesty, Jane Chase, I give you… the capital of your kingdom, Eagle's Den!"

Jane stared at him gaping as he started laughing again.

"Yes, that's the name of the Fal'silian capital"

"Eagle's Den?" she asked with a frown.

"Yes, your ancestor, king Eagle, the one who married the first Chase built a small village here, meant for his relaxing. Centuries later, there was not even a single house left of the village, but the ones who built the capital decided to call it Eagle's Den in honor of what this place meant for him."

"Nice to know" Jane said nodding slightly. "And… great, great grandparents? Were they still alive when you were a kid?"

"Fal'silian people live to be two hundred" he replied with a smirk. "And there are some who even pass that age. We thought it was because of the air here, but we realized that even if we move to your world, we still have the same lifespan. So, it must have something to do with the elves. And the advanced healing. And the elves again. I have a feeling that even the people in your family live a lot"

"My grandparents died when they were about seventy" Jane said with a sad look. "Although they seemed younger…"

"Not natural causes, right?" Lord Kenden asked.

"Plane crash" she said slowly. "My parents were murdered this year, when they were fifty. And before my grandparents, I have no clue"

"They probably had very long life spans," he said thoughtfully "after all, I think it was in the 13 hundreds that the lifespan around here improved greatly, and then the Chases still ruled Alcara"

"That's this realm, right?" Jane asked and Kenden only managed a 'yes' before laughing again.

Rolling her eyes, Jane walked in Snape-mode (it was one of the first things she'd learnt from the Potion Master) towards the outsides of the castle. Of course, she didn't get too far, seeing as she was barely 12 years old –or she would be in a few days- and was born to be shorter than average. Lord Kenden made just a few steps with his huge legs before gaining in on her.

"You know, you are quite mature for your age" he said admiringly.

"I have to be" she replied simply. "So, which way to the stables again?"

Lord Kenden just chuckled and led her to the stables through the maze that was Jane's castle. Once they were riding on the fields next to the city itself, Kenden spoke to her admiringly:

"You're a born rider, Jane"

"Thanks" she replied with a grin.

"And I can tell you'll be very light when you'll be older, too" he said thoughtfully.

"Thanks, I guess," she said with a frown and he let out a chuckle.

"I mean, if you were just another Fal'silian girl, I'd ask you if you wanted to be one of my scouts" he explained his unusual statement.

"What does a scout do?" she asked, shooting him a glance.

"Scouts are light warriors that travel quickly and are very bright. They're not exactly experts in hand-to-hand combat, since their physic doesn't permit them to stand tall in the middle of a battle, well rooted on their feet and to hit everything within a three-meter radius. But scouts, if well trained, can gallop through a battle, hitting their enemies powerfully. They are like the wind, everywhere. Very valuable warriors, but you couldn't build an army with only scouts."

"I see" Jane said with a small frown. "That means I won't be a real asset in a battle"

"Kings and queens of Fal'sil are always very valuable assets," Lord Kenden said. "They are usually those that fight the best, no matter what their physic might be like. And plus, you are a witch, that's a very valuable thing. If you can become an Animagus, you will be the horror of all your enemies"

"I wish I could become an Animagus…" Jane said thoughtfully.

"Perhaps you will become one. And who knows, maybe a Multimagus…" Lord Kenden started saying but Jane cut him off.

"More than one shape, right? I heard of those, it's said to be dead difficult to become one of them"

"Dead difficult, but not impossible" the man smiled wickedly at her. "And plus, think about it. Registering your shape as a… Flobberworm and becoming a dragon whenever you need it. Nobody would know what hit them"

"Wow" Jane said, very thoughtfully.

"It is worth trying indeed," he said with a smirk. "I should know"

"What?" Jane asked, turning towards him. "You're a wizard? And a Multimagus? Show me!"

"Is that an order, your majesty?" he teased. "Yes, of course I will, I'll show you my two _known_ shapes, the others will remain only for me and a very select few others to know about."

"Like your wife?" Jane teased.

"I'm not married" he said amusedly and stopped his horse, Jane doing the same. "But my lover, she knows. We are as well as married, you know"

Once he got off his horse, lord Kenden turned into a beautiful stallion, making Jane squeal in delight. Then, he turned into a rather small grayish dragon, making her gap.

"Wow!" she said, when he turned back. "Wow! Wow, wow, wow! It's said to be very, very complicated to turn into a magical creature, and a dragon nevertheless!"

"I know" he smiled at her, mounting his horse again. "But you see, the Fal'sil were very powerful in the beginning. Then, when we got here, the bloodlines of the people in the original nomad kingdom mixed up, becoming very powerful. Also, generations upon generations of battles made us very skilled from birth in many things. And the connections with the elven realms were pretty tied up… Meaning that we had access to elfish knowledge of all sorts, not to mention that quite a few of our people had elf lovers. Even if they eventually got married with humans, some elf traits remained in them still… We're now under the protection of elves, Jane, and it is no doubt that because of them and because of the magic in this realm, we are more powerful than your average witch or wizard."

"So, good allies to have" Jane said with a smirk.

"Yes, but we have our battles with other realms" Kenden sighed. "If we didn't have them…"

"You wouldn't be the warriors you are," she said slowly.

"That too" he smiled. "Well, we should be going back to your castle, after all, you have things to do, don't you?"

"Yes, like firing half the Council, hiring others, dismissing the advisors and Isabelle…"

"Good luck" Kenden said with a chuckle. "And don't be too harsh"

"I won't," she laughed before asking, seriously:

"Is the city of Dragon far, lord Kenden?"

"One week of riding a horse, or if you were to gallop continuously, changing horses, it would be two days. Why do you ask?"

"That far, huh?" Jane smiled sadly. "I'd wanted to ask you if you'd like to be my advisor until I got track of tings here, but if you're so far away… why on earth are you laughing again?"

"Because I'm a wizard and I can Apparate," he laughed. "I'm half an hour away, as there are Anti-Apparition wards in both castles. Maybe one day I'll show you the city of Dragon… It is very different from yours"

"I'd love to see it" Jane beamed. "So, will you please be my advisor?"

"I'd love to. That way, there would be somebody _competent_ for the first time on that position"

Jane chuckled and turned her horse towards Eagle's Den.

"Catch me if you can, Kenden!" she cried as she urged her horse to gallop. With a laugh, he started galloping behind her.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Iris lied down next to Sirius, feeling quite sleepy. He, however, was quite alert.

"Love" he muttered and she looked up at him. "Did you see that happy look on Harry's face?"

"Yes, Sirius, I did" she smiled back at him.

"Do you know it's the second party he gets, and the first he got when he was one?"

"I didn't know" she replied, her smile turning sadder.

"I should have been there for him," Sirius said slowly. "I should have never went after Peter, I should have taken care of Harry, should have went to Dumbledore… Damned by my impulsive nature!"

"Shh, Sirius" Iris said, embracing him. "You couldn't have known. You did well, and now it is in the past. We cannot change what already happened"

"Maybe we could" Sirius said and Iris stared at him for a second before realizing what he meant.

"You cannot do such stupid things, Sirius. What happened, happened and now all is well. Sometimes it is better to leave things as they are. If you could, would you change James' and Lily's deaths?"

"I would!" he replied, his eyes sparkling. "How can you ask that?!"

"Because, Sirius" Iris said slowly "if you did change them, it is not for certain Harry would still have parents or that you would be alive. Voldemort died that night, even if it was just temporary. If you would change that… you would destroy everything that was built for the past so many years. Perhaps we'd be conquered. Perhaps both Harry and his parents would be dead. The present is good enough as it is"

"But…" Sirius complained slightly.

"Live the present, love" Iris said. "And do what you can do best. Only if there was only bad about an event, change it. Not if a greater good came out of it."

"But if I were to get one of those time traveling…" Sirius started saying, but Iris cut him off.

"He may not have been happy until now, but he is happy now, isn't he? Leave it, Sirius. All will be good"

"Alright, alright" Sirius sighed and smiled at her. "You know, when Harry finds someone, eventually, I wish it was somebody as nice as you are"

"Really?" Iris snorted.

"Too bad Amala's taken, with that git" Sirius said. "I still don't like it"

"He loves her," Iris pointed out. "And she loves him. Don't worry"

"What if he hurts her? Badly?" Sirius asked with a bit of desperation in his voice. "I mean, he's much older than her, and an ex-Death Eater, and a Slytherin and…"

"He won't hurt her, she's safe with him," Iris said with a small smile. "Trust me. Plus, she's a dragon when she gets mad"

"What if he cheats on her?" Sirius growled.

"No, he won't" Iris laughed. "She had to work so hard to get him to _touch_ her I hardly doubt he'll be cheating on her. Plus, if there will be any cheating, it will be her doing it"

"What?" Sirius asked, startled. "Amala?! No way! She's so much like you, she could never cheat on anybody!"

Iris smiled softly and looked down with concern.

"I cheated on you, Sirius," she said, looking up into his eyes. "Don't judge a book by its cover"

"What?" he asked, frowning.

"I cheated on you," she said again. "It wasn't planned… remember Simnai?"

"Of course I do" Sirius growled. "Him? With him?"

"He's my ex" Iris said slowly. "And well… last time he was here… when he…"

"When you two went for a walk, what you really did was…?" Sirius asked, before turning speechless.

"Sorry" she said slowly. "But listen, Sirius, I love you, I…"

"I don't want to hear this," he said. "I really don't"

With that, he simply got up and left the room.

"Sirius, wait!" Iris cried.

"Don't come after me!" he cried in reply. "I don't want to see you right now"

Iris bowed her head slowly. She would explain, by God she would… And then…

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Voldemort paced around the room, gritting his teeth. Potter would be his. And he would fall lower than Dumbledore thought he could. But how? How would he ever break the boy's defenses? He didn't feel that odd presence that kept him out of the boy's mind anymore, but he felt something else. It was the boy himself blocking him out, remembering how the presence had done it. And of course, the boy was very powerful doing so. Most people were, when it came to self-defense.

But how to break him? The presence was gone and he would be able to kill the boy from inside, but how? How?

The door opened and in came a Death Eater, limping slightly.

"Master, I…"

"What is it, Avery?" Voldemort snapped.

"I found the book you were looking for, the one about mind-intruding," he said shaking slightly.

"And what else happened? You are weak physically now and weren't four hours ago" Voldemort said, his voice icy.

"Another book on the shelf attacked me and I fell from the ladder," Avery said, swallowing difficultly.

"Fool" Voldemort laughed. "Well, bring me the book, Avery, what are you waiting for?!"

"Sire, Pettigrew took it to research something" Avery started.

"Really?" Voldemort asked, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you tell him it was _I_ who needed it?"

"Yes, I did, Master" Avery said, a shiver going though his body "but he took it anyway. I tried to take it back, but couldn't"

"Incompetent fool" Voldemort snorted. "Go find him and tell him to bring it to me"

"Master, please" Avery said sobbing slightly. "Could I go to a healer, I think I broke a few ribs and I'm not good at healing…"

"Find Pettigrew, tell him to bring me the book and _then_ go heal yourself," Voldemort said, nearly spitting in a silent anger at the Death Eater's incompetence. "And get yourself ready, in three days we attack Diagon Alley. It has reached my ears that will be when Potter and that group from last year will go buy their school accessories."

"Yes, sir" Avery said and walked out the door, moaning slightly in pain. A plan was forming inside his anger-filled mind.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

All the members of the Order –and many more- were in Snape's Manor, much to the 'delight' of the owner of said manor. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as he regarded his ex-spy with almost parental care. Snape couldn't be more pissed. Why couldn't they meet in Black's kennel?! What on Earth could possibly be so important that they would _all_ have to meet in the middle of Snape Manor?

"I would like to announce that we have a new Minister of Magic" Dumbledore announced and everybody who had no access to before Daily Prophet news watched him curiously. All except for Severus who knew who it was and was _not_ pleased. "Our new Minister, elected this morning, after finally managing to gather everybody who would vote, is Arthur Weasley"

There were some cheers here and there and a 'way to go, Dad!' and Severus rolled his eyes. As everybody in the room quieted down, the Potion Master couldn't stop himself from commenting.

"Is that the _sole_ reason why you came to _my_ house with the _entire_ Order today, Albus? Or is there something else we should know about?"

"It is good that you ask, Severus" the Headmaster said, turning towards him. "It is not all."

"Since Arthur's job was free, we took the liberty of proposing you as the next head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department " Iris said, a smirk on her face.

"Ha, ha, Iris" Severus said before glaring at Dumbledore whose eyes were twinkling in amusement. "Well?"

"Actually, the new head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department is Perkins and the new member of the department is a graduate from last year of Hogwarts…" Dumbledore started saying before McGonagall cleared her throat. "Yes, well… The next reason why I have called you today was to inform you that it has reached my ears that Voldemort will attack Diagon Alley in three days' time, when he heard that Harry will be going to buy his school accessories"

"What?!" Arthur Weasley asked, shocked.

Severus raised his head and frowned. So, that was it. And how come Potter would be going to buy his things in three days' time and he didn't know?!

"How do you know?" he asked over the growing voices of the others, who were starting to panic.

"I received a very interesting a letter earlier today" Albus replied. "It was, I am afraid, unsigned, so we cannot thank our informer… But I have reasons to believe the letter is for real. Although, it might be a strategic move from Voldemort"

"What reasons do you have to believe this, Albus?" Sirius asked and, Severus could see, he looked quite worn out. And Iris Rose was somewhat away from him. How funny. They'd always been together before. Come to think of it, she didn't look too well either…

"Harry, do you know when you're going to go buy whatever you need for school?" the Headmaster asked and all eyes turned towards Harry.

"You just said I would be doing it three days from now, but I didn't know before" Harry said and Severus sighed to himself. That news hadn't reached his ears before either.

"Alas, that is why I think the letter is real" Dumbledore said in a slow voice. "Only myself, Minerva and Sirius knew of this arrangement. We talked about it two days before, when Sirius came to Hogwarts, but not before or after."

"It is indeed painful to admit it, but" Severus said and all eyes turned towards him "both Minerva and… Black are beyond doubt _not_ on the other side. If Minerva was on the Dark Lord's side, he would have killed me the first moment he saw me as Barty Crouch. Everybody would have blamed my incapacity to act for it. And even had I been saved, she couldn't have possibly known about it, so she'd had betrayed me. And advised Albus wrongly"

"I am so joyous that you trust me without any proof of it" Minerva said and Severus smirked.

"And as for Black… well, I somehow doubt it would happen, don't you? Considering his past and all"

"So somebody must have overheard" Iris said and Severus smirked at her. Of course. The obvious.

"But who could it be?" Sirius asked. "You know how many Professors are in that castle and you should know that nearly all of them spend their summers in other places than at the castle."

"Yes…" Dumbledore took the word and again all eyes turned towards the old man. "At that time, the only people in the castle were myself, Minerva, Sirius, Firenze, Sybill and Poppy. Hagrid was at his home"

"Well, we take the centaur out" Severus said. "Centaurs are too proud for their own good and they wouldn't serve the Dark Lord. Hagrid is… reliable, indeed, so even if he were there… Yes. Pomfrey and Trelawney, they are the ones that I still wonder about."

"Come on! That old fake, a spy for Voldemort?!" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes. "She can't get her head out of predictions, can she?"

"And Quirrell was just a stuttering fool, wasn't he?" Severus smirked. "One that was chased around by snowballs in winter and who always wore a turban with garlic in it, to protect him from vampires, isn't that right?"

There was silence in the room for a few seconds.

"We should be keeping an eye at Sybill too" Dumbledore said finally and Severus smirked again.

"Good" he said. "Now, is that all, Albus?"

"Yes, it is" the Headmaster said.

"Very well, then. May I suggest that somebody goes to Diagon Alley and gets the things the children need for school and sending them here? No need to take risks. And of course, in three days' time, we could guard the Alley with our lives, hurrah"

Everybody gaped at him as he glared at them.

"I have things to do, call the meeting off, we'll meet tonight. At Black's house, is that fine with you?"

"Yes, it is" Dumbledore replied and Severus stormed out of the room.

"What was that about?" he heard Black's voice behind him as he slammed the door behind him and ran towards a room, closed it behind him and completely lost his composure. The pain from his arm was unbearable. The Dark Lord was calling his servants.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Sania was smiling at Maxwell who was telling him about his day. The corridors of the queen's castle were very comfortable even for just standing in. They were cozy and nice. And two people could chat.

"So, basically, that's it" he finished, his eyes twinkling.

"You have a humor" she said with a nice smile.

"Thank you" he mock-bowed at her as she walked one step closer to him.

"Listen, Max" she said with the nicest smile she could gather. "I was wondering if you were… free sometime?"

"Um…" he said and he suddenly looked a bit troubled.

"Maybe you'd like to go out sometime?" Sania explained. She hoped she wouldn't scare him off… he _did_ seem a bit uncomfortable.

"Um… Yeah" he said with a small smile. "Did I ever mention to you that I am… engaged?"

Engaged?! Engaged?! He was _engaged_?!

"Whoa" she said. "Um, no, you didn't"

"I am" he said. "I love her, I really do… and um… I'd love to go out with you, as a friend."

"Right" she said and her smile fell, as did her heart. Engaged? Loved _her_?

"I'm sorry" he said.

"It's ok" she said, looking nervously around the corridor. "How stupid of me, of course. I hope I didn't…"

"Don't worry" he said and smiled at her, a bright smile.

Sania was just about to say that she didn't worry, but a voice called on the corridor through the amplifier on the corner of the corridor:

"Urgent meeting with the Council! Urgent meeting with the Council!"

The two looked at each other half-puzzled, half-afraid and stormed down the corridors, nearly throwing Sybille off her feet.

"Watch we're you're going!" she snapped. "This is not the time for foolishness!"

"Sorry" the two said in the same time and Maxwell added: "What's going on?"

"Apparently" Sybille said, starting to walk really fast, the two following her "there will be an attack upon Diagon Alley in a bit less than three days! The Queen and Council will decide our status in this attack"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

AN: cliffy! Oh, did you notice that my chapter titles don't seem to have too much to do with the storyline anymore? Hmm… I'll have to fix that. Oh, and by the way, Hogwarts is on the way! Next chapter, that's the stop!

Review replies (And thank you to everybody who reviewed! You guys are the greatest!):

Alcapacien: Thank you!

Inu-kokoro: kick _my_ Severus down _there_? I'm offended. Even if he _did_ try to get in your pants, still! :::laugh::: But I completely understand! –even if I don't quite agree-. Ok, too much time spent on that theme! And as I can see, you've nearly gotten the love triangle… but… well… let's just say that well… Sania might have a bit of a part here or there… hmm… but don't tell anyone!

Oh, and Happy New Year to you too! I'm late, know, but better late than never, no?

Tsuetsu: Thanks!

GamingGuy84: Well, my friend, you represent basically 1/6 of my fans –lol- and you _do_ have a point. I've nothing against huge age-differences couples –as long as one of them is not a kid, like 12 or 6, because in that case, it's truly sick or one of them being 80 and the other 20, in which case, well… anyway, you get the point-, but I understand that some people do and I said… why not? Sirius must think like that too, and he's close enough to Amala to say something like that too –but wait until you see… no, wait, I'm not going to tell you who's reactions! :-D

marauder #3 : I wish I'd live in Jane's city too, or anywhere in that realm, but alas, I have to live here. I like this world too, so it's not that much of a problem. And, yeah, I love Snape, too… Though right now, he needs to learn patience. Loads of it. Poor fellow ;-)

Soramiko: I'm really, really, really happy that you like writing long reviews :-D And now that my computer is back, I can write again! And I can write _a lot_! And yes, it was likely that Sirius would be against Severus/Amala. But of course, he now has problems besides that… I'm curious to see what happens next. Lol. To tell the truth, I have the basic ideas of the story in my head, but exactly when/what/where is revealed to me in time, as I write. So, I can say that I am curious to see what else is going on. And hah! I get to find out first!


	9. Diagon Alley and Hogwarts

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. RR

**AN:** After a long time trying, I finally managed to get on Wahoo!

Chapter 9: Diagon Alley and Hogwarts

"The Council has been summoned!" the viceroy said majestically as the last person, Lord Kenden, entered the room.

"We can see that" that annoying to hell and back woman Cecilia said. Jane couldn't help wondering how on Earth she'd got there in the first place.

"Shut up" Kenden said with a very unpleasant smile. Cecilia shifted uncomfortably in her chair as Kenden and Jane exchanged a glance. Oh, yes, they definitely shared their passionate hate for the woman.

"I am afraid" the viceroy said, getting up as Kenden sat down next to Jane "that there will be an attack upon Diagon Alley in less than three days"

Jane's heart stopped for a moment as she watched her viceroy say it. Diagon Alley? As in, the one in London!

"Apparently, Harry Potter and a few other students will be shopping for school at the time. Now that they were informed by an anonymous letter of the situation, they probably will not go. The question remains still what we should do: join the battle or stay back?"

"What are you kidding?" Jane asked and all eyes turned towards her, but she couldn't care less. "Of course we go and join the battle! That's not even an issue, the problem is: how do we do it?"

"Oh, look, look!" Cecilia said with a horrible sneer on her face. "The young cub decided to follow her feelings rather than her head. Go ahead, follow her! She'll get us all dead, I tell you!"

"Cecilia" Kenden warned with a low growl.

"Such a decision cannot possibly taken this quickly, your majesty" one of the members said. "It needs considering: it is very important"

"Of course it is!" Jane said. "It is exactly because it is important that we need to judge quickly and in a clear way!"

"You're not thinking clearly, because it is the world that you grew up in" the viceroy said in the kindest voice he could muster, although he too seemed annoyed by Jane's outburst. "You predecessor, king Lombard, would have never judged such an important matter in such a little time!"

"And will he remain in the history books for being one of the greatest rulers ever?" Jane asked, glaring at the viceroy. "Please, understand: these people need our help, we cannot…"

"We can" the viceroy said. "If we would help whenever somebody is in need for it…"

"We'd have more allies!" Jane said. "And besides, these are not just any people that need our help, these are my friends, my acquaintances, my…"

"You are young and are not judging clearly" the viceroy said and, just as Jane was about to say something, Kenden jumped to her help.

"I believe that her majesty is right" he said and everybody stared at him. Sybille had a very sinister smile on her lips, making Jane shiver as she looked at the witch. "It is very important to help our friends and loved ones. After all, it is friendship that brings us allies. And the queen can easily break an alliance with the wizarding world."

"The wizarding world is at war, do we want to join the war?" the viceroy asked.

"Yes, we do" Kenden replied with a smirk. "If we do not join it, it will join us. Voldemort is a threat to everybody, including us in this world. It would be stupid to break away from the wizarding world, wait for it to be defeated and then go against the Dark Lord by ourselves."

Jane smiled gratefully at him as he said that and she exchanged a glance with Sania who winked at her.

"I suppose it is a somewhat good decision then?" the viceroy said with a sigh. "Very well. All in favor of going in the battle raise your hands. Well, no counting needed, there seem to be three quarters of you wanting to go. Very well. Now, for the war meeting, what should we do?"

"I say that we should send only those with magical powers" Jane said and all eyes darted towards her. "After all, Diagon Alley is not one of the largest spaces in the world, so there won't be many fighters involved. Probably there will be few who can cause havoc. We need to send some good warriors on our side who can protect themselves against both magic and physical weapons. "

"And if they get killed by the Death Eaters? Hmm?" Cecilia asked in a mocking tone.

"They won't. I want to know what they can and what they can't do, our warriors" Jane said.

"There are quite a few who are trained as both wizards and sword fighters or archers" Kenden replied, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Mind you, our spells are different a bit from your and… well… the agility of our men is greater than the agility of most of the normal people"

"Can the Avada Kedavra go through wood?" Jane asked and Kenden raised an eyebrow.

"No, it is absorbed by the wood" he replied. "If it's thick enough and already dead. Otherwise, the plant or whatever dies"

"I see" Jane said. "Would it be possible to send there men with wooden shields that can protect themselves from spells with those shields and cast others at the death Eaters?"

"Of course" Sybille replied and smiled, showing her very white sharp teeth.

"So, what we need is a bunch of wizard warriors" Kenden said slowly. "Good strategy. Too bad that it will wear off quickly as Voldemort is not an idiot"

"Yeah" Jane sighed. "Well, let's go! Find me these men and train them! Make them be about… thirty."

Everybody got up as Jane stood up She immediately regretted it, though, as she suddenly was half the size of everybody in the room.

"Bloody hell" she muttered to herself and Cecilia snorted with despite.

"A child, leading us to war" she said and stormed out. Jane glared after her and walked over to where Maxwell, Sania and Kenden stood. Everybody else, except Simnai, Varamesh and Sybille walked out quickly.

"Why did you tell me not to fire _those people_ now?" Jane asked Kenden and he smiled a bit sadly.

"I am unsure of their loyalty. No, they have not betrayed us yet, but I feel that they will when you kick them out. Let them stay until after the battle, and then send them away"

Sybille snorted slightly.

"Be sure to fire Cecilia" she said with loathe. "She can be a true pest"

"Trust me, she was first on the list" Jane said. "Did I tell you that you sometimes have an awfully sinister smile?" she asked curiously as Sybille smiled one of her smiles again.

"Oh, I do, do I?" Sybille asked, giving her the same 'sinister smile', making the girl's hair stand up at the back of her neck.

"Yeah…" she said. "Boy, am I glad you're on our side"

"Who said I was on your side?" Sybille teased. "Come child, let's have lunch. Even warriors at war need to eat and feel well"

"Child?" Jane asked with a groan.

"She used to call king Lombard 'boy', so I would say she's doing you an honor" Sania said and laughed. "Lunch, then?"

-

In the kitchen at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Sirius was having some tea with Remus.

"I can't believe she's done that" he said slowly. "I simply can't believe she's done that"

"You've said that phrase for three days now" Remus said and sighed slowly. "She wants to talk to you. Give her a chance the next time she tries, please. For the sake of my mind"

Sirius snorted slightly as Remus added the last part, but without real humor.

"She cheated on me. With Simnai" he muttered. "How can I ever be better than the elf? And if I _was_ better, why did she do it?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Remus suggested. "Please do so, Sirius. And if you can't work out anything, at least you _might_ stop moping around"

"You're right" Sirius said and got up. "Where is she?"

"In one of the rooms upstairs" Remus replied. "Give her a chance to say anything. And please, for the love of God, settle things out with her! We _need_ to enlarge the headquarters today and we need her, you and _Snape_ to do it. I don't want you to go around killing people"

"Fine, fine" Sirius said and sighed exasperatedly. "I'll go and settle things with her"

He started walking towards the door when he realized what Remus had said and turned back, looking hate-stricken.

"Snape! Help with enlarging _my_ house!"

"Um… yes" Remus said slowly. "He should be arriving soon. I thought you knew"

"No! No, I won't let that bloody, greasy, idiot of a pedophile anywhere _near _my house!" Sirius cried after storming out. Remus gulped slowly.

"Shouldn't have said that" the werewolf muttered, oddly reminding himself of Hagrid. "I really shouldn't have said that"

-

Sirius went up the stairs and into one of the common rooms, where he smashed the door while attempting to close it.

"Bloody traitor and idiot, I will not stand to this! I am not going to stand for such treatment!"

"You're beginning to sound like your mother and if this is your idea of trying to speak to me so we can solve the situation, Sirius, you're…"

Sirius turned to see Iris glaring at him from one of the chairs with a book in her hand.

"I wasn't talking about you!" he snapped. "I was referring to Snape, but since you mentioned it, it goes for you too!"

"What?" she said, looking at him, offended. "I'm a bloody traitor and idiot!"

"No, I meant the treatment part" Sirius said. "Did you know Snape would be coming here to help adjust _my_ house?"

"Yes, I've heard so two days ago" Iris replied, looking at him with a look that said 'what-the-hell-is-going-on?'.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me!" he cried. "I have a right to know!"

"It wasn't as if I didn't try…" Iris said, rolling her eyes. "But you were oh-too-great to even look at me!"

"You should've tried harder!" Sirius snapped.

"You know what, Sirius!" Iris asked. "I haven't been mad like this for _years_ and now I am! And you know what! I don't have to be this mad! Let's just forget we ever went out together, I don't want you to keep reminding me of my mistake over, and over and over again! I deserve better!"

"_You_ deserve better?" Sirius asked, storming towards her. "What about me! I'm the one you've cheated on!"

"And I'm sorry for it, ok?" Iris asked, rolling her eyes. "But I'm sick of this and even though I love you, I'll let you go! I don't want to ruin my life for you!"

"What!" Sirius cried. "You make yourself sound like a victim! But what does that make _me_!"

"For crying out loud, Sirius, you've made my life hell for the past three days, we can call it even, or we can consider nothing ever happened between us, that we don't even know each other! What do you want?" she cried back.

Sirius just stared at her for a few seconds, gritting his teeth. What _did_ he want? He wasn't quite sure either. What did he want?… She bit her lips slowly and looked at him shyly and he felt his teeth stop gritting.

"How about you forgive me? Please, Sirius?" she asked tiredly, her eyes half in tears.

"Fine" he said slowly. What kind of a power did she have on him, to calm him down like that? "Fine, but please don't do that again. Let's go down"

-

Severus Apparated in the kitchen at Number 12 and was surprised to see Remus greet him quite relieved. Since when did the werewolf seem to be relieved when he saw him? Worried, perhaps, but…

"What happened?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sirius and Iris have some problems" Remus replied with a small smile. "They'll get over them"

"I did notice something lately" Severus said, only to hear a door smashing somewhere up. "Is that it? The door? The mutt?"

"Yep" Remus replied, deciding not to comment on the 'mutt' part.

"Bloody traitor and idiot, I will not stand to this! I am not going to stand for such treatment!" Sirius's voice carried downstairs. Severus raised another eyebrow. Interesting. Traitor and idiot? Iris Rose?

"Is it a Black family trait, screaming about traitors?" he asked the werewolf. The two of them had started getting along better sometime. It was a sort of a truce. Quite unbelievable.

"Really, now, Severus, there's no need to be…" Remus replied, frowning at him.

"I wasn't talking about you!" the voice carried again and Severus smirked. "I was referring to Snape, but since you mentioned it, it goes for you too!"

"How did _I_ get in the conversation?" Severus asked and another voice, less loud could be heard muffling. Quite interesting.

"I forgot to tell him…" Remus said as Sirius started talking again. Severus smirked as he heard the words.

"Snape would be… help adjust _my_ house?"

"That you were coming here" the werewolf continued with a short sigh, pretending he wasn't interrupted.

"So I hear" Severus replied. "So I hear". Was this the game the werewolf wanted to play? 'Pretend nothing's going on?'

"Why the hell didn't you tell me!" Sirius cried upstairs. "I have a right to know!"

"Oh, my…" the Potion Master commented sarcastically. "Trouble in paradise, is it, wolf?"

Remus just rolled his eyes at the Potion Master. He seemed to really hate the situation, having his best friend fighting with his lover –or former lover- upstairs while his enemy was listening.

"Oh-too-great to even look at me!" Iris nearly cried.

Remus smiled embarrassedly towards Severus as the raven-haired man raised an eyebrow. Since when did the peaceful woman cry like that? Quite _very_ interesting.

"How've you been?" Remus asked in an attempt to make things seem more normal. Though they were even more awkward. How come he didn't realize that the game of 'pretend nothing's going on' was not going to make the problems go away?

"You should've tried harder!" Sirius snapped and Severus decided to act as if nothing was wrong too. Just to make the wolf be more comfortable. After all, by the looks of it, he'd had it bad for awhile.

"Fine, I've been fine" he replied in an as casual tone as he could muster.

"You know what, Sirius!" Iris's voice carried.

"Quite very good…" Severus paused to hear Iris crying madly towards Sirius. "How've _you_ been, Remus? No trouble around here, I hope" he added and the sarcasm flooded the room.

"I deserve better!" Iris cried on the background.

"Oh, I've been very well, just…" Remus started saying, deciding to ignore the sarcasm of it.

"_You_ deserve better?" Sirius cried, feet stomping on the floor. "What about me! I'm the one you've cheated on!"

"Hanged around" he replied, looking up. Severus decided not to ignore the situation anymore and comment.

"Cheated on, this is a story I must hear sometime" he smirked. "Sounds _fascinating_. Oh, I see they've quieted."

"What!" Sirius cried. "You make yourself sound like a victim! But what does that make _me_!"

"No, I was wrong" Severus said slowly and eyed Remus with something close to an evil look.

"For crying out loud, Sirius, you've made my life hell for the past three days, we can call it even, or we can consider nothing ever happened! What do you want?" she cried back.

"I never heard her cry like that before" Remus said. "Well, that's quiet"

"I agree. Let's see if it lasts" Severus said and they both waited quietly for a minute.

"Wow" Remus said slowly. "I didn't think they'd stop so soon"

"It's a very good thing they did, though" Severus replied with a smirk. "So, since we _do_ amazingly have a moment's peace, how about we consider enlarging this… Black Manor?"

"Yes, I heard you were good with enlarging houses" Remus said and smiled softly.

"I doubled the size of my Manor" Severus replied.

"Ah… You like large houses" Remus said in a conversational tone.

"That, plus I have many secrets and I like to be able to find my way out of the house in various ways in case of need. Besides, I _was_ getting bored at some point in time"

"Ah, I see" Remus replied. "So, what we need to do is put two extra floors, with six bedrooms and two common rooms, three bathrooms and two working rooms"

"Oh, joy…" Severus said in a dark voice. That meant that he would be going back home late that night… And they still would have to work at least an extra week for everything. He'd added about half the Manor, but it had happened in many summers… months upon months of building. But he had also worked on potions a lot then. He felt very happy that his parents died early. At first, knowledge that he was an orphan at barely 17, that his parents had been killed by Aurors at Christmas, had struck hard. But after shorter than one day, he realized exactly what it meant: power to choose his own destiny, to live like he wanted… And he always _had_ hated them. So, very soon, he learned how to build, he could spend hours in the potions lab and leave everything that had anything to do with house cleaning for the house elves to do. So now, he was more than capable of adding two floors to the Manor.

Only problem was, he couldn't use his usual style of building, to complete everything in less than a week himself. No, he had to do it the old-fashioned way if he didn't want the two canines to realize he probably had more skills than they thought.

"Severus? You seemed to phase out" Remus interrupted him.

"We shouldn't work too much now. We need to gain forces for the Diagon Alley attack" Severus sighed.

"I quite agree" Remus replied. "Ah, Sirius!"

Severus turned to see Iris and Sirius in the doorframe, both looking quite reluctant about something. Sirius looked at him, _growled_ and said:

"Let's do it, then"

-

"Do you think all will turn out alright, Harry?"

Harry looked at the beautiful, dreamy girl in front of him and tried to smile. The sunbeams fell over her face as she asked him the question as if she would ask what time it was, caring for the answer, yes, but not all that affected by it. The much too sunny gardens heavily contrasted with Harry's feeling of fear for the next day. No, they wouldn't be in Diagon Alley… But lots of people would be.

"Everything will be alright" he said, rather to encourage her than because he really felt it was the truth.

"Yes, it is my feeling also" Luna replied dreamily. "Perhaps somebody will come to the aid, what do you think?"

"Maybe" Harry replied.

They fell into a silence that was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. It was just silence. And Harry was glad for it. Glad that he could be there, without Hermione or Ron worrying about the next day, without Draco looking at them with dark eyes and without Neville nervously walking around. He was glad that he was with Luna there, on the green bench, under the sunbeams.

Without realizing he did so, he took her hand and smile at her.

"It'll be fine" he encouraged.

"I know" she said and her eyes, for once, seemed to be less dreamy.

Harry hadn't meant to kiss her, but he did. He just leaned over to her and kissed her lightly on the lips, before pulling back. She was smiling at him.

"I know"

-

Kingsley did not like this. He didn't like it at all. There were way too many people there, too many Hogwarts students buying their school things. The attack would be today and too many would be there, too many that would be caught in the middle of everything. He was glad that Harry and the others were safe, as the Death Eaters would be looking for them.

"Tonks" he said slowly towards the older-looking witch next to him.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Can we get people out of here without anybody figuring out why we're doing so?" he asked and Tonks bit her lower lip.

"We've talked about this, Kings… There's no way. Not without the Death Eaters realizing they have a traitor in their ranks. "

"But that idea about closing maybe two or three main shops for maintenance…" the Auror said concernedly.

"No, Kings… No shop closes now" she replied slowly. "Don't worry. There _are_ twenty order members here and ten more to come when the attack happens, as well as a few Aurors who we can summon. It'll be fine"

"People will die" Kings said slowly. "And there's no way we can stop this"

"I know" Tonks replied. "But we need to save all those who…"

Suddenly, curses started flying everywhere as about ten cloaked and hooded people entered the street. People panicked with the speed of light and both Kingsley and Tonks drew their wands.

"It's begun!" Kingsley said, taking out the two-way mirror. "Quickly, come to Diagon…"

He never got to end that sentence as a green beam hit him and he fell soundless on the ground.

-

Remus stared disbelievingly as Kingsley collapsed, dropping the two-way mirror.

"Kingsley's down!" he cried and everybody in the kitchen at Number 12 stared at each other. "He's been hit with Avada Kedavra… we must go…"

But nobody moved for two seconds. They stared at the mirror and heard the cries on the other side, but couldn't move. But that was only for two seconds before they all grabbed their wands and Apparated in the middle of the Alley.

It was hell on Earth, as Sirius could see. It wasn't just Kingsley who was down, so were two men he didn't know. The people who'd been there had either scattered in shops, or started to fight… But the ones who fought were precious few. There were a few Death Eaters approaching from Knockturn Alley and Tonks was desperately calling for Aurors. To say it quickly, they soon were one on one with the Death Eaters and Sirius found himself fighting against some great dueler. It was hard to dodge all the killing curses, but he somehow managed.

"Where's Dumbledore!" he cried, although he knew it was a rhetorical question. How on Earth would the others know?

With a quick, well-aimed curse, Sirius threw his opponent against the wall and the man lost conscience because of the blow. He quickly jumped over to help Tonks who was dealing –not very successfully- with three Death Eaters at a time. They managed to get one down before Sirius was struck with a feeling of doom. He turned, almost in slow motion, to see who was standing behind him, at about twenty meters away… not far enough at all.

Voldemort had Apparated in the middle of the battlefield.

-

"NOW!" Sybille cried at the top of her lungs and twenty men with wands and wooden shields jumped against the Death Eaters. She gritted her teeth as she saw the Red-Eyed Idiot appear in the middle of things and she felt the wave of fear that he sent intentionally on every one of his enemies.

"Not on me, you don't" she said and smiled sinisterly and took out her black wand and charged against the Lord himself. "Hello, Voldemort" she said in her most doom-like voice.

-Sssybille- he hissed in Parseltongue upon seeing her.

-Nicsse to sssee you again, hoped ssI never would- she replied with the same hiss.

He threw a curse against her and she dodged it, while smiling sinisterly. The Fal'sil warriors were doing well against the Death Eaters and she knew they would retreat soon. She also knew she couldn't win against Voldemort, but she knew she could keep him against hurting others.

"Your people are losing" she laughed at him while dodging and throwing a curse. "Kill me, I dare you! You'll lose your best followers in the process"

"Don't you have fear of death!" he spat at her as he threw ad Avada Kedavra.

"Hell, no!" she replied, dodging it and laughing. "I laugh in the face of Death!"

And, to say the truth, she _was_ laughing. Not because she found anything particularly amusing in the situation, but because it threw him off-course and into deep annoyance. Well, she guessed him unable to aim rightly at her _was_ funny, in a deadly sort of way. And him so pissed he didn't see he was losing was also somewhat funny. She threw a cheering charm at him and, surprisingly, hit him fully.

"Couldn't I have used and Avada?" she sighed to herself as he started laughing like an idiot too. Now, that _was_ funny.

Several Death Eaters and Order members turned to see what was going on, chills going up their spine while they heard the mad, sinister laugh of the two.

"Retreat!" she called and, just as she'd predicted, it wasn't just the Fal'sil who followed her orders, but the Death Eaters too, who Disapparated. "What a laughing stock your warriors are, Voldemort!" she laughed. Now, that really _was_ very funny.

"Crucio!" he cried and she was hit. In less than a moment she collapsed on the street, crying in pain. But before she would go completely crazy from it, it stopped and Voldemort raised his wand again. "Avada kedavra!" he cried and the green light shot out of his wand.

-

Sirius noticed about twenty people jumping in the battle as a woman cried 'now'. He shot a glance at them and noticed they were on the light side, so he fought against another Death Eater that he'd picked from Tonks' back. He still had a feeling they would lose and, in the middle of his fight with the Death Eater, he noticed that Sybille was there and she was… _hissing_? At Voldemort. She was a Parselmouth!

He didn't get to wonder too much, though, as he fought against the Death Eater. Somehow, the idiot managed to hit him with a 'locomotor mortis' and he fell on the ground. He was so dead. Again.

And just then, one of the newcomers hit the Death Eater with a wooden shield in the head and Sirius's opponent collapsed. The woman –because it was a woman, he could see- pointed her wand at Sirius and undid the jinx.

"Thanks" Sirius said.

"No problem, handsome" she replied and winked at him. Sirius was just about to say something back as a green beam of light rushed towards her. Her face turned quickly, but to Sirius it seemed like forever as she did it and she raised the shield in front of her eyes with the speed of light.

"My God" Sirius muttered as the shield absorbed the curse.

"Sybille!" the woman cried. "Watch what you're doing with your bloody curses!"

Sirius turned his head to see Sybille laughing slowly as she hit Voldemort with a curse. She rolled her eyes as the curse hit him and Voldemort started laughing sinisterly, freezing Sirius's blood in his bones. And apparently, it wasn't only Sirius's blood that froze, it was everybody else's as many stopped fighting and started staring at the two.

"Retreat!" Sybille cried and Sirius backed down from the fight, as if he were under a spell. The newcomers retreated in a kind of a circle and, surprisingly, the Death Eaters Disapparated. She laughed. "What a laughing stock your warriors are, Voldemort!"

While still laughing, Voldemort raised his wand and cried "crucio", hitting the woman. She had only just collapsed on the ground though, as he lifted the curse and threw the Avada Kedavra. She raised her eyes slowly and she gaped slightly as the beam hurried towards her, but the woman who'd saved Sirius threw her wooden shield in front of Sybille. It absorbed the curse and collapsed on the ground. Everything was silent for a few seconds, besides Voldemort's light chuckles. Then, he Disapparated.

"Thank you, Helen" Sybille said, getting up from the road.

"Couldn't let you die, could I, Sybille?" she replied and Sirius noted that she hadn't pronounced the name like they would pronounce Sybill Trelawney's name, but differently. Like… saying sight, without the 't' and 'bill' had a stressed 'l' there.

"You could have" she replied darkly and walked towards Helen. "Thank you"

Sirius frowned at her.

"How do you pronounce your name?" he asked and she chuckled.

"Like Ssss-I-bill. Longer 's', I, bill. You can feel it go up- and down. But it's quicker if you say 'Sybill' as you did until now" she replied. "I ask people to call me that. My close ones pronounce it right when we're alone and comfortable, though"

"What happened?" Tonks asked. "Where did you guys come from?"

"From the Fal'sil" she smiled. "Queen Chase sent you backup, and I agreed to lead things"

"Jane Chase helped us?" Sirius asked and smiled slowly. "She's a good kid"

"And she'll be a great queen" Sybille replied. "Come. Let's see who died"

Sirius felt his heart sink as he looked over to Kingsley's body. The Auror was dead. And somewhere, not so far, a sixteen-seventeen year old boy lied down. He remembered the boy… Seamus Finnigan. An unknown witch was also dead. Several people were injured and the others, finally getting out of their stupor, started tending to them. Damned be the war. He noticed Severus Apparate on the battlefield with a lot of potions for the injured. Going there to fight would have been very suicidal as traitors were the first to be killed, but his help would be needed.

"Damned war" he said slowly.

"I quite agree" the Potion Master replied darkly.

People stayed inside shops for ten more minutes before starting to get out and trying to help. There were many hexed, especially people who hadn't been able to flee at the beginning. There weren't so many dead… But those that were… Kingsley was dead. Seamus Finnigan and his mother were dead. A woman called Amanda Pippins was dead. Seamus's father was gravely injured. And out of the Death Eaters, some guy that Snape called Ignatius Mole was dead.

As the night closed on them, many hours after the fight, everything was finally set more into order. The injured, including a very hurt Minerva McGonagall, were sent to St. Mungo's. The dead were taken away and their families were announced.

Later, they found out why Dumbledore hadn't made it. Some of Voldemort's followers had helped rescue Lucius from his prison and he'd tried to stop it. He'd been too late, though.

-

Voldemort had stopped chuckling for quite awhile and was pacing around the dark room, in front of his inner circle. Most of them had been wounded. Igantius Mole was dead. And Voldemort was mad.

"How dare she! How dare they!" he spat. "The Fal'sil will fall"

"Who was the woman, my lord?" Avery dared ask. "She was a Parselmouth, wasn't she?"

Voldemort turned towards him, hate in his red eyes as he said:

"You should know better than asking stupid questions, Avery. Crucio"

The Death Eater fell screaming on the floor and Voldemort didn't lift the curse too quickly.

"Good. That will teach you" he murmured and started pacing again. "Now, we must take care of her. Of Sybille. She always finds a way to meddle with things that do not concern her."

"Who is she, my Lord?" Lucius Malfoy asked.

"I do not know for sure" Voldemort replied, turning towards his faithful servant. "She is one of the Fal'sil, she is a Parselmouth and she is not completely human. That is all I know. But we need to kill her. You, my faithful Lucius, will make sure she dies."

"Yes, my Lord" Lucius replied smirking slightly. Voldemort started pacing again and noticed Avery still lying on the floor.

"Get up, worm" he hissed. "Make yourself useful and help Lucius plan something. Maybe you can somehow do something important with your life. Lucius, if you need to sacrifice anybody to kill her, feel free to sacrifice Avery."

Avery slowly got up to the laughs of the Death Eaters. He always got the bad parts of deals and he was so sick of it. They would pay. They would all pay!

-

Severus sighed as he made it in his home. He scowled at everybody, including his young lover and said:

"Finnigan is dead. So are his mother and Kingsley. McGonagall is in St. Mungo's. One Death Eater is dead. Three are captured. Many shoppers were injured. That is all"

After that, he stormed out of the room towards his private rooms, leaving the teens gaping.

"Seamus is dead?" Neville asked slowly.

"Kingsley…" Draco muttered.

"And McGonagall is in St. Mungo's" Luna said slowly.

That night, not many words were said.

-

"Heads up, Severus" Colt said slowly as his master lied down on the bed.

"It has begun again" Severus replied slowly. His black sheeted beds suddenly seemed very far away from the real world, real world which, for Severus, was full of death and destruction. "Last time, Colt, I was in front row"

"I know, cub, I know" Colt replied and jumped on the bed, nuzzling him gently. "But this time you won't be"

Severus kept quiet and his hand stretched to pet his wolf. The soft fur of the statue was not marble…it was real fur.

"She might be" he said slowly and Colt wondered which 'she' he was talking about. Was it Amala? Perhaps. The young woman had started fighting and now, there was no backing down. Voldemort had no pity for those who defied him. Or perhaps it was Monica. Monica was a she-wolf, a warrior, a powerful being and she would want to fight in the war.

"She won't" Colt replied, knowing that he was lying, no matter which 'she' he was talking about. Severus just petted him quietly, lost in thoughts. Truth be told, Colt was afraid for him, just like he'd been last time. Severus was his friend, not his master. He was the one who loved him and cared for him. And Colt was his friend. He didn't want to lose the raven-haired man in this stupid war. Sincerely, Colt couldn't think of a human-human war that was anything but stupid.

"Minerva is getting old" Severus said slowly. "She was old when they hit her with those many stupefying spells. They affected her a lot. Albus is an old man. Yes, he is very powerful for his age, but he's so old… And Gods, Amala will be in front row. Monica will get herself in the war, too. Colt, if they die… I am alone."

"You have me. You always will" Colt replied. So, it was Amala he'd been worrying about. It made sense, somehow… Monica was more Slytherin, more powerful, more cunning. "And none of them will die"

Severus did not reply. So, the two of them just lied there in silence and darkness as the torches went out one by one, leaving just one to light the room. Of course, Severus had made sure they would never wear out, but they did go out late at night if Severus wasn't moving around. He said he preferred to light them twice or thrice a night than lose all track of time.

Finally, there was a knock on the door and, without waiting for a reply, Amala came in.

"Severus" she said slowly.

"Amala" he replied.

She just looked at him before taking a deep breath and saying:

"I'm very happy that you can't go in battles anymore, Severus" she said. "When you said Kingsley was dead, I thought that if you'd been there… It might have been you"

"If we'd have gotten no notice, it would have been all of you" Severus replied and smiled sinisterly. "Go to sleep, Amala. Leave."

She looked at him and nodded before leaving, as he'd asked her to do. The last torch went out and Colt knew that neither of them would sleep that night.

-

Summer ended on a sad note for everybody. Seamus's dad had recovered and was destroyed as he heard of the death of his son and wife. McGonagall was feeling better, but she wouldn't be able to teach for awhile, so somebody else was replacing her.

Harry was shocked to find out that a Fal'silian lord of some kind would teach Transfiguration. Lord Kenden or something like that. And Sybille would be helping with Defence Against the Dark Arts. It appeared that some other Fal'silians would also be going to Hogwarts, in order to watch over their new queen. And Dumbledore had announced the teens in Snape Manor they would be training with Jane, too! Well, they wouldn't be taking kingdom-ruling and noble-manner lessons, but still.

And soon, the teens found themselves on Platform 9 ¾. Jane was there, Max, the viceroy's son, was carrying a ton of luggage and muttering something about the exploitation of man and Sania, who was next to him, was smirking. The moment they saw the Snape Manor group, they stopped walking –and Max dropped the entire luggage, but that was another thing completely.

"Had a nice summer?" Sania asked with a smile.

"The Diagon Alley attack…" Amala started saying, but was cut off by Sania.

"Forgot about that…" she muttered. "It must've been bad. Oh, well, give your luggage to Max, he'll carry it"

"I will most certainly not! What am I, a slave!" he cried and she laughed.

"I didn't ask you to carry all this because you're a man, Max. I asked you to carry it because you're an adult wizard who can use his wand."

"Oh, yeah" he said and took out his wand as Sania muttered "but not his brains, apparently". Luckily, he didn't hear it.

Soon, everybody's luggage was levitating towards the train and Jane was catching up with the rest. It had been more than three weeks since the Diagon Alley attack and people had started to lighten up. Little did they know of why no attack and no sign of darkness had appeared since then.

-

"She will go teach at Hogwarts, won't she Avery?" Lucius asked.

"Yes" Avery replied, gritting his teeth while reading the same part of the same book over and over again as Lucius asked him the same stupid questions again and again and again. He hated this. Lucius was acting like a bloody know-it-all when he knew nothing. NOTHING! He was a bloody idiot and Avery should get all of Lucius' credits! Damn it all to hell!

"And we can't Apparate in Hogwarts, can we, Avery?" Lucius asked.

"No, we can't" Avery replied. "Lucius, I'm researching this spell and…"

"But can we make her come out?" Lucius wondered.

"Maybe, but this spell, Lucius!" Avery said as Lucius rolled his eyes.

"Shut up about the bloody spell, Avery. I'm trying to think here. Now, are we sure she's going to Hogwarts?"

Avery stared at him, shivering. He couldn't take it anymore. He took out his wand and pointed it towards Lucius.

"SHUT UP!" he cried and sparks shot towards the blond man who turned towards him, intrigued. "You're not that bloody smart, Lucius, are you! You lost your place within the Hogwarts governors, you are never asked to do anything! _I_ get every important research, and what do I get in return! _Nothing_! _I_ should get your credits! _I_ should be the Dark Lord's favorite!"

"Now, now, Avery, cool down" Lucius said, unimpressed. "It's not as if you could do anything important, could you? You're not smart or even a pureblood…"

"SHUT UP!" Avery cried. "Shut the bloody hell up!"

"Why should I?" Lucius asked with a smirk. "Poor Avery, forgot his place and now…"

Avery never heard what would be happening now as the words left his mouth before he even realized they would.

"Avada Kedavra!" he cried and hit Lucius fully. The blond man collapsed and Avery started laughing. He'd _dreamed_ of this. So many times…

"What's going on?" there was a voice and Narcissa Malfoy appeared through the door. Avery looked at her and laughed maniacally.

"You…" she said, suddenly afraid.

"Avada Kedavra!" he cried and she too fell on the floor, dead. She deserved it, the bloody woman. She was just as bad as Lucius. And now they were both dead. Avery was happy. He also wanted Voldemort to fall… Never manage to do anything again in his life.

Let the idiot fall!

-

Dumbledore was in his office, wondering how they'd be able to take prisoners. Lucius had escaped during the Diagon Alley attack… there were no good enough prisons… Maybe if they obliviated the Death Eaters and made them think they were Muggles? Return them to life, just make them think they were other people. Yes, that would be good. They would be retarded, but they'd have a chance at life.

Suddenly, the door to his office was opened and Hagrid came in.

"Dumbledore, sir, Avery's out, on the grounds. He can' get in, 'cause o' the wards, but he wants ter talk ter ya, I think"

Dumbledore got up and the two quickly walked down towards the entrance of the castle. As the great doors opened, they could indeed see a cloaked Avery spinning around like a mad animal.

"Dumbledore!" he cried and laughed. "Nice to see you, Headmaster! Lucius Malfoy's dead, so is his wife! I killed them! Oh, and the Dark Lord… he wants to kill that Sybille woman from the Fal'sil. She's not exactly human and she's a Parselmouth! And he wants to open the gates to dark realms and get creatures from there. And that letter about Diagon Alley… I'm the one who sent it! Now, go, kill the bloody idiot! Or I will…"

Dumbledore just stared as Avery laughed like a maniac and started running towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Oh, my…" Dumbledore said slowly.

"What…" Hagrid asked slowly, but he didn't find the other part of the question.

"He seems to have suffered from many Crucio curses, Hagrid" Dumbledore replied slowly. "He is walking towards insanity. Voldemort just got himself a wild monster against him… And there is nothing to do to save the human Avery"

"Ya can tell tha' by jus' looking at him?" Hagrid asked, amazed.

"No, but I also have the letter" Dumbledore replied slowly. "It was hard to decipher since his arm seemed to shake for a reason or another and it was not a letter to help us, but to make Voldemort fall. The same thing is here. I have seen cases like this one before"

With that Dumbledore sighed and went inside the castle, back towards his office.

-

"This is the last time we ride this train" Hermione said, looking out the window somewhat sadly. "It's our last year…"

The others in the compartment –Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny, Neville, Amala, Jane and Draco- looked at her and nodded. Jane smiled slowly.

"I'm so lucky I'm so young…" she muttered.

"I'm lucky to have two more years, this one included" Ginny said slowly. "To think that one day… One day we'll be out of school, no more moving stairs or hidden rooms…"

"No more snogging in the corridors" Draco sighed.

"No more going to the kitchens in the middle of the night" Ron said slowly and smiled sheepishly as the others raised their eyebrows.

"No more library" Hermione sighed and this time everybody laughed. "What!"

"No more lessons with Snape, either" Neville said and smiled.

"No more seeing Severus each day!" Amala said, looking nearly hit by a train and the others laughed again.

"I'll miss school" Harry said slowly. "Although my life has been threatened every day since I came here for the first time."

"I understand what you mean" Ginny said slowly. "I'm still in my sixth year but you… you better have all the fun in the world!"

"I agree!" Draco said with a smile. "Maybe one of us will become a teacher, then he or she'll come back"

"Not me" Harry said. "I couldn't keep a class steady"

"I'll work in the inter-specie relations" Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Quiddich maybe?" Ron suggested slowly.

"Politics and world-domination" Draco said and the others stared at him. "Well, why not?" he shrugged.

"I have no clue. Oh, shit, I must decide" Amala said and bit her lip.

"I want to be a Herbology Professor" Neville said. "Maybe I'll come back… But only after Sprout doesn't teach anymore or maybe she'll take me as a helper"

"That'd be great" Hermione smiled at him.

The door to the compartment opened and the woman with the sweets appeared to ask them if they wanted anything. With one glance at each other, Draco and Harry both replied 'yes' and bought a lot out of nearly everything. When she left, everybody in the compartment started eating from the supplies.

"I'll miss _her_" Amala laughed. Then, she looked around at all of them and said loudly: "I don't _want_ to leave Hogwarts! It's been more my home than any other place on Earth… except my Aunt Mona's house, but she's in India!"

"I know how you feel" Harry said slowly.

The door to the compartment opened and Sania came in and looked at them. She then sighed.

"Last year, huh?"

Amala looked at her and bit her lip again.

"Yeah. I don't want to go!" she said.

"I know how you feel" Sania replied and leaned against the closed door. "I left school before I was supposed to, at the call… And now I wonder how it would be to go back there… I know I'd feel like a ghost of the past. Nobody I knew was young enough to still be at school now. My teachers would probably still be there, though. It's all memory…"

"That's sad" Luna commented.

"You'll see" Sania said slowly. "You'll think about it one day… you'll say 'remember our first year, when all of us first went to Hogwarts? Remember how we were terrified of the testing? Remember being sorted?"

"I sure as hell won't" Amala replied. "But I guess you're right… I think about my school too."

"Sometimes we remember the past… Get lost in it. Remembering the past, we feel like ghosts, so old and useless. So many things changed. You will never have a first kiss again, you will never be as terrified of Snape as you used to, you will not see everything as big or as great as you did before. If you are not careful, you will live the past instead of living the present"

The others stared at Sania as she smiled, lost somewhere in the past.

"You will remember… What you did as kids, how you laughed carelessly with your friends, how you fought bravely with monsters. And a deep nostalgia will come over you. You will remember Seamus and Cedric and they will seem so far away. Even you will be far away from each other"

Her eyes suddenly snapped back in focus and she smiled.

"But you will lose yourselves in past only if you're not careful. Learn to live in the present, don't forget to get excited about great, big things. Explore and be whatever you want to be. Everything can be as wonderful as it was before, as it is now, as it will be soon, if you're careful to live now. Look at Dumbledore, he lives every second with happiness! You will get out of school and, just as the castle has secret rooms, you can discover hidden places on Earth. Just as Hogwarts has a library, you can find much more knowledge out there! Everything that is Hogwarts… Everything that it is, it exists out there, too! The end of school doesn't mean the end of fun and adventures!"

There was a silence left over the compartment before Draco decided to speak.

"That was brilliant" he said.

"I wanted to be a writer, as a kid" Sania replied and smiled. "I got to live the books instead. Well, here we are!"

The teens didn't move though and she smiled.

"Have you read Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien?" she asked.

"No" they replied, all but Hermione who said "yes".

"It is a book about the past, mostly" she replied. "Tolkien was obsessed with past. He wrote a history of Middle Earth and made sure that you could feel the nostalgia of past everywhere. That is where I got inspiration for my speech. Well, out of the train with you all! I want to see you live!"

They all got up and she smiled.

"We have a war to win" she added towards Jane.

"I know" she replied.

-

Everybody took their seats as the first years came through the doors of the Great Hall and walked towards where Flitwick, and not Minerva McGonagall as it had usually been, had put the Sorting Hat. As they made it in front of it, it started singing.

"Oh, how long ago it was

That I was brought to life

When Hogwarts had just barely rose

And Houses meant no strife.

Gryffindor I do remember

Standing straight and brave

Watching as each Houses' member

Was sorted with great grave

Slytherin, his fellow friend

Assured him all was right

That I, the Sorting Hat would send

Each child to his side

Ravenclaw, she was so sure

That all would end up well,

For in her wisdom, to the core,

She'd made my mind like hers

And Hufflepuff she had much faith

In what the others though

She thought that all was very safe

And Hogwarts would be as whole.

I shall not tell you why they parted,

The Hogwarts Founders Four

Let's just say that it all stared

And ended with one war.

And now, like many years before,

I'll sort you to my best

And carefully I will make sure

You'll get in the right nest.

If you are faithful to the core,

Then Hufflepuff you'll be

If all you want is to learn more,

A Ravenclaw I see!

If power is that which you wish,

A Slytherin I'll sort,

If courage you may well unleash

In Gryffindor's your fort.

So, come, come, fear me not!

By your qualities you'll be spot!

With the end of the song, the Sorting Hat closed its mouth –if you could call it that- and waited for the children to go forward. Flitwick started reading the list in his cheery way and the children all went forward. Harry watched the show with some interest and remembered that time when he'd put on the Sorting Hat 'not Slytherin, not Slytherin…' Probably Malfoy had asked specifically to be put there. Or maybe he was just very Slytherin. Oh, well…

When they were all sorted, Dumbledore stood up, as he usually did.

"I am afraid" he said gravely "that during the Diagon Alley attack, one of our students, Seamus Finnigan, has been killed. All of us, let us raise glasses for Seamus Finnigan!"

Everybody raised their glasses and drank for the young Gryffindor. Harry really missed him now… it was starting to sink in that he was really dead.

"Also" Dumbledore started saying "a student will not be returning to courses. Mark Evans has dropped out of Hogwarts and moved in the United States"

There was silence again in the Great Hall and Dumbledore took a breath before speaking again.

"One of our Professors, Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, is in St. Mungo's, recovering from the Diagon Alley attack. Her place has been taken, as Transfiguration Professor, by Lord Akanai Kenden from the kingdom of Fal'sil which resides in another realm."

The Great Hall just stared stupidly at the Headmaster as he started explaining.

"One thousand years ago, a migrating group of people, the Fal'sil Kingdom, let by king Eagle found another realm and learned how to travel between this realm and that one. As the kingdom consisted of both wizard and Muggle population, and were all warriors, today the Fal'sil are mostly wizards and some of them have other species' blood in their veins. They have stayed out of this world's affairs for many hundreds of years, but the descendant of king Eagle, Jane Chase, has been called to the throne of her ancestors. She is a Hogwarts student and she will be aided to learn quickly about the kingdom by some of the Fal'sil, including Lord Kenden, who has kindly accepted to become the Transfiguration Professor. I assure you, he is quite skilled with the subject."

The students just stared around, looking for Jane. Most of them knew the story, having heard it at the end of the previous school year. Of course, some of the first years were very clueless.

"The Gryffindor Head of House is, until the return of Professor McGonagall, Professor Binns"

There were collective cries of 'what!', 'pardon!' and 'excuse me!' as well as roars of laughter as Dumbledore said that.

"We have a _ghost_ as a Head of House!" Ron cried.

"And a boring one, at that" Ginny murmured. The other Houses were laughing like mad.

"This is a joke, right!" Ron cried again and Dumbledore turned to look towards him, somewhat amused.

"No, I am afraid not, Mister Weasley. The rules of the school say that the candidates for the job which have more than five years of teaching and a subject taught for all years should be preferred for the job. Professor Binns offered himself to occupy the Head of Gryffindor position as he used to be a Gryffindor long ago."

"We're doomed" Harry muttered. "We're so doomed"

"This is not happening" Hermione said and sniffed slowly. "Not Binns! Why on Earth did he offer himself, anyway?"

The Great Hall was chatting about the Gryffindor Head of House as food appeared on the tables. Soon enough, though, the subject switched back to the war and to Seamus…

-

AN: Binns! Head of House! I am a GENIUS! Mwahahahahahaha!

Replies to reviews:

Tsuetsu:bow: Thank you

Inu-kokoro: You're most welcome for any excuse I give you not to do anything –and especially Algebra homework- And yes, if you want to kick Severus anywhere, he's mine and I'm very protective, grraw! But you can always have Sirius and Remus… threesome, huh? ;-)

Soramiko: lol. Time does fly when you're having fun and I started writing at… 4 pm? And now it's 6:15. Oh, well… No, I haven't mentioned Luna and Harry before, but I am doing it now. Wow. The action is getting complicated…

I think Jane'll make a fine queen, too… With a bit of help, of course. ;-)

And about spelling and everything… English isn't my first language, so sometimes I tend to switch from British English to something I think should be English ;-) lol. I'm happy I don't make that many mistakes, though. Yeah, psychological… I said psychical because it sounded like the Romanian 'pshic', which means psychological. The trick with writing something English style and then adding an English termination afterwards usually works, but not always lol. Thanks.

GamingGuy84: I'm glad you still like my story -). Well, it was time they all got back to school… there are things to go on there :hint, hint: And about Snape/Amala, sorry about the tones of it… I'm just lacking my boyfriend now, so I tend to take it out in stories, lol.

And of course I'm looking forward to the release of 'Half Blood Prince'! The only problem is that :sniff: I won't get to read it a few months after it's released. Bloody translators who don't translate too fast. And I can't get my hands on the English versions either, since there's nobody around who imports English books. Damn.

Marauder#3: I'm really happy you like my story! And yeah, Iris cheating on Sirius was a really nasty thing of me to do.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**AN:** Due to current situation, I will no longer name chapters. What current situation, you ask? The situation of not coming up with good titles, duh!

Oh, and I've been reading "the Magician" by John Fowles and the word 'eleutheria' stuck to me… you'll find it somewhere in the text ;-)

Chapter 10

The night had been very calm and Harry would have had a good night's rest hadn't it been for the absence of Seamus' bed. It was disturbing. Seamus was no longer there… because of Voldemort. Dean hadn't spoken to nearly anybody last night and Harry could understand why: you couldn't speak when your best friend was dead.

So, it had been a long night in which he'd rolled in his bed, thinking of the boy who used to sleep in the same dorm as him. And it struck him how little he actually knew about Seamus. In six years, he'd found out nearly nothing about him: nothing about his family or friends before Hogwarts, nothing about what food he liked, what subjects he enjoyed…

Nothing.

It was disturbing, really. And there was nothing that could be done now. To realize you've had the same bedroom with somebody and that you knew less about him than you knew about your Divination Professor.

Seamus had died. And nothing would bring him back.

But Dean was still there. Neville was, too. And Harry would not make the same mistake again. He wouldn't wait until either of them went away before realizing they were there.

That was a promise.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Next morning, after breakfast, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Amala and Ginny walked to Binns' classroom under Hermione's lead. Harry wondered what in the world made him agree to her choice. The others were thinking among the same lines, apparently as everybody quietly followed her down the corridor to the History of Magic classroom.

As they made it there, Hermione gently knocked on the door and opened it. The classroom was empty.

"See?" Ron said, looking relieved. "Told you he wouldn't be here"

"Yes" she replied and pulled herself a chair. "He isn't here yet. So, we'll wait"

"What!" Ginny said. "But class will begin before he comes here! And I have Potions first thing!"

"Then go, you don't want to be late" Amala said slowly and Ginny looked at her watch and cringed.

"I won't make it anyway" she said slowly. "The bell rings in one minute. I'll loose a tone of points and it's barely our first day!"

Amala looked at her thoughtfully for a second before sighing slightly.

"I'll come with you" she said. "Maybe…"

"Don't" Ginny said and smiled at her. "You don't want to pour gas on the fire, do you? People will say he favors you anyway"

"I guess" Amala replied and smiled at her. "Good luck!"

"Thanks" she replied and left as the others muttered things like 'poor girl' under their breaths. Soon enough, the bell rang and they knew what it meant: Binns and the students would be there soon. And they would be late for Transfiguration with a new teacher. Come to think about it, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Even Hermione seemed to be a little less sure of herself than she'd been that morning.

Some fifth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws came through the door and stared at the seventh year Gryffindors.

"Came to see what's wrong with Binns?" one of the Ravenclaw boys asked, smirking.

"Yeah" Amala replied with a small smirk and some others stared at her.

"You're Snape's girlfriend!" one of the Hufflpeuff girls said, her eyes widening.

"Yes" she replied amusedly.

"You're mad!" the Ravenclaw boy said and laughed.

"What's your name?" Amala asked and the Ravenclaw winked at her.

"Steven. And this beautiful young lady from Hufflepuff is Delilah" he replied, pointing to the Hufflepuff girl who'd recognized Amala. "You know, Wright, I truly respect you for the Gryffindor courage that you have for going after the old git!"

"Um… thanks" Amala replied and the other three Gryffindors laughed. "But don't call him a git. You never know when he's close…"

Their conversation was cut short as Binns came in the classroom through the blackboard and the students sat down in their usual seats. Hermione had returned her chair to a Ravenclaw girl.

"Hello class" the ghost dully said. "Today we will learn about…"

"Professor" Hermione interrupted him, rather loudly, before he started teaching.

"Miss Stranger" Binns said dully before looking around and realizing she was not supposed to be there. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to ask a question" Hermione replied, pointing to the other three and her. "How come you chose to be our Head of House?"

"Well…" he replied, looking at her oddly. "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington reminded me of a promise I made when I was still alive"

Harry decided: this was odd. Binns actually knew he was dead!

"He said that they couldn't decide for a better Head of House and asked me whether I remembered what I promised one of my favorite students when he was in his fifth year here: that I would become Gryffindor's Head of House one day. I had forgotten, but sir Nicholas reminded me."

The four Gryffindors stared at each other and Hermione thanked the man. Then, they left the classroom and started walking towards the Transfiguration classroom. They would definitely talk to Nearly-Headless Nick soon.

But as for now, they had to concentrate on getting on the good side of their new Professor.

It wasn't long before they reached the Transfiguration classroom and Harry braced himself for the worst. He man who looked like an old king was probably very stern and he would _not_ like them being late on their first day.

Hermione entered first, followed by Amala. Harry was next and Ron, of course, was last. Everybody in the classroom –students from all Houses were there- stared at them, and especially at Hermione as Ron close the door behind them.

"We are sorry to be late, Professor" Hermione said and the man who was sitting behind McGonagall's desk raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?" he asked in a deep, warm voice.

"We asked Professor Binns why he chose to become our Head of House" Hermione replied and held the Professor's gaze easily. "He didn't seem too interested in being one before"

"I see" Kenden replied and there was silence for about twenty seconds, in which Harry wondered what else there had to happen before the Professor smiled slightly. "Well?"

"Well what?" Ron asked.

"Why did he become your Head of House?" he asked. "I had been wondering myself…"

Amala chuckled slightly and Hermione smiled. Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise, as did Ron.

"Apparently, he had to keep a promise he made when he was still alive" Hermione replied. "He promised a student he would become Head of Gryffindor. Why he would keep his promise now, I don't see: that student is more than likely out of school now and…" she paused

"The answer is simple" the Professor replied and smiled. "Ghosts remain here, in this realm, until they finish their business. Perhaps he wants to go rest, what do you say?"

"Oh" Hermione replied and blinked rapidly a couple of times. "But this is a silly promise"

"You never know" he replied and smiled at them. "Now, go take your seats."

The four did so and Kenden smiled at them before getting up from his desk.

"As I said before, this year you continue the lessons about human transfigurations. I must say, it has always been my favorite part of Transfiguration, albeit it is the most difficult part. Now, could anybody tell me, how many animal shapes can an Animagus have?"

All students raised their hands and the Professor chuckled.

"Mr. Potter" he said and Harry replied:

"One shape, sir"

"Good" he replied. "But how many animal shapes can a human have?"

There was a pause before Draco asked, amazed:

"Isn't that the same question!"

"No, it isn't" he laughed. "It's a very different one. Can anybody answer?"

Harry leaned towards Hermione:

"How many shapes can a Multimagus have?" he asked.

"I have no clue" she replied. "More than one"

Kenden turned his gaze towards them and smiled slightly.

"Share with the class" he told them.

"It wasn't anything important…" Harry said and blushed. Great! He'd screwed up twice in his first lesson.

"But it must have been" he replied somewhat playfully. "Share with the class, Mr. Potter"

"I asked how many shapes a Multimagus can have" Harry muttered.

"Louder" Kenden said and Harry breathed in.

"I asked how many shapes a Multimagus can have" he said, louder.

"And what did you reply?" he asked Hermione.

"That I don't know. More than one" she said loudly.

"Very good" Kenden said and smiled. "A Multimagus with just one shape is called an Animagus. And a Multimagus has more than one shape. They are basically the same thing, but due to the fact that few people managed to achieve having more than one shape, they started being called differently. An Animagus is a Multimagus with one shape. A Multimagus is an Animagus with more than one shape. They are the same thing"

"Are they?" Draco asked, frowning.

"Yes" Kenden replied and strolled back to the middle of the class. "Now, it's really difficult to become an Animagus, because you must learn to identify with the animal you chose. Sometimes, it's as if the anima chose the Animagus and not the other way around. But you can choose your shape. Indeed, it's more difficult with somebody with the personality of, say, a wolf, to become a Flubberworm, but it can be done. Although I have no idea why somebody would willingly choose to be a Flubberworm Animagus."

There were a few laughs in the class and Kenden smiled.

"But some people can easily switch what they identify with. Now, the Animagi, they become a lot like the animal they choose, especially if they remain in its shape for a longer time."

Harry remembered how Sirius seemed to be a lot like a dog even in human shape when they'd been in the Shrieking Shack and how Pettigrew resembled a rat.

"The Multimagi can identify easily with creatures, that is their basic trait. And they can much more easily become magical beings. You see, the reason for which it is so difficult to become a magical creature is because magical creatures are much more complicated than non-magical creatures in things such as emotions, thoughts. If you insult a dog, he'll have no clue what you say. If you insult a Hippogriff, you end up dead."

The classroom laughed again as Kenden shrugged carelessly.

"It's difficult even for the Multimagus to turn in their first and second shape. In their first because their body has never changed before and it is a new experience. They need lots of practice. And their second shape is difficult because they need to learn to identify with another animal. The rest of the shapes then come easier and easier. A Multimagus which has say… seven shapes can easily become an eighth animal"

"Eight shapes!" Hermione gasped and Kenden smiled at her.

"And a Multimagus with a hundred shapes can get himself another shape in a few hours. They are unidentifiable, they can always become what they want. They have their favorites, of course, but they can basically turn into anything. Quickly. Imagine how it is when you have one thousand shapes"

Everybody just gaped at him as he smiled.

"You become so accustomed to switching shapes that you can become an animal in the first few seconds after thinking about it. Instantly, it means."

He paced in front of his desk slowly as he spoke and he raised his eyes to see the class.

"But those Multimagi who have so many shapes can have a slight problem after a while" Kenden said. "They can become confused. Being a Multimagus can happen because of weakness or because of strength. Let's see… A suitable comparison so you can understand… Ah. Got it. The difference between a powerful Multimagus and a weak Multimagus is the same as the difference between a Medium and a Seer. A Medium is controlled by other begins and can therefore say things about past, present or future, but he or she can't control what he or she sees or feels. It is not a _voluntary_ thing. But Seers can control what they See. They can try to See whatever they want, although some things are more difficult to See than others. So, if you put a Medium in front of a room which needs a password to open and he or she manages to feel something, it could be something about World War I or the unborn children of a friend. Interesting, yes, but absolutely useless"

The class laughed.

"A Seer, if he can, will See the password and open the room. Or he might not see the password, case in which he'll use Alohomora in frustration"

Harry chuckled. He started to really like this teacher.

"But if he doesn't succeed, he'll walk away. He won't waste time with things about the Goblin Wars. Now, to come back to our Multimagi. A weak Multimagus might be influenced to become something else than he or she wants, especially if he has many shapes. He also might lose his identity and become confused. By identifying with one animal or another, he might lose his own personality. A powerful one, though, he will adapt to the animal's soul, but he will keep his identity. He will not be confused."

Kenden smiled at the class and leaned on to the desk.

"The reason why I told you all this is because it's a very interesting, not very known bit of information that isn't written nearly anywhere. Alas, I think some old English books spoke of Multimagi, but the true things written about such skills weren't written in England. For us, they basically don't exist. Now, let's get moving towards the Advanced Human Transfiguration that you'll be learning this year… if any of you would like to become an Animagus, please come here"

Hermione immediately jumped up and Harry uncertainly got up, too. Draco followed, after seeming to think about something and finally Ron and Amala stood too. Dean soon stood up, too. All the Ravenclaws stood. And finally, everybody in the class was standing.

"Thought so" Kenden said and chuckled. "Mister Thomas… what animal?"

"Um…" he said slowly. "A dog!"

"Good. Everybody else, sit."

Kenden neared Dean's desk and asked:

"How do you look like? As a dog?"

"I'm a fox terrier. White, brown and black" Dean replied.

"Good" Kenden said and walked towards his desk, before turning back and saying, a huge smirk on his lips: "give me a fox terrier howl, please"

The class laughed, including Dean. Harry couldn't think of anything funnier than a barking and howling Dean running around.

"I mean it" Kenden replied. "You must identify with the animal, capture its soul and will your body to change. Everything, I assure you, is quite difficult"

There was knocking at the door and the Professor turned towards it, hand instinctively on his wand, as everybody could easily see. His face, however, was peaceful.

"Enter" he said and the door opened to reveal somebody who Harry had grown to know. Sania Demonheart.

"Hey, Kenden" she said and smiled at him, rolling her eyes slightly. "Which part of _wait for me_ you didn't quite comprehend?"

Harry watched curiously as Kenden raised an eyebrow. He had lowered his hand as he had seen who'd entered, leaning against the desk again.

"Wait for you?" he asked, confusion on his face.

"Yeah. You know, it's that thing which I asked you to do. It implies _not_ leaving the place where you are until the other person makes it there. Or at least, it implied this when I said it" she explained.

"When did you ask me to wait for you?" the Professor asked and she rolled her eyes all the way.

"Before you left this morning, after I _specifically_ told you that unlike you, I have absolutely _no_ clue how this castle is on the inside and I have enough bad luck today to _kill_ myself. And by the way, I did have a very nice run-in with Peeves who was _completely_ not impressed with my tries of sending him away from me. And then, after he finally left, it turned out the _damned_ Baron and I shared a long walk. Thanks for helping me get to breakfast safely!"

Harry could feel the sarcasm floating by as if it was liquid. He really couldn't help but chuckle.

"The damned Baron?" Kenden said, frowning.

"Yeah" she said. "The Baron… You know. Jane mentioned something about him being the Slytherin Ghost"

Kenden stared at her for a few seconds and then said:

"You know, his name is the Bloody Baron"

Sania stared at him for a few seconds before her eyes widened slightly and she gaped for a second before starting to laugh like crazy.

"You mean, 'bloody' _wasn't_ a swear word!" she asked between hiccups of laughter. "Hell…"

The class chuckled and Kenden smiled amusedly at her before he got an idea:

"Could you wolf-howl for me, Sania?" he asked her.

"Wolf-howl!" she asked, trying to lose the amusement but not quite managing to. "Yeah. Though you don't deserve it."

She threw her head backwards and a long, calling howl erupted from her neck, perfectly mimicking a wolf's moon howl. She then brought her head back down, smiled wickedly and _barked_ and _growled_ at Kenden who just laughed.

"The howl was enough" he told her fondly.

"You deserve to be _bitten_!" she replied, nodded in goodbye towards the classroom and left, shutting the door behind her.

"That would be dear Sania" Kenden explained. "Quite a personality, as you can see. And she has a tendency to appear either at the perfect time in a situation. She did prove my point perfectly, as you can see. She identified perfectly with a wolf… or a dog. A canine anyway. You see, becoming an Animagus or a Multimagus is, as I've said before, all about capturing the soul of the other specie. You could feel that especially when she said I deserved to be bitten… I must ask her how she always lands perfectly in things one day"

Kenden looked at the class with a small smile on his face.

"Now, how about that fox-terrier?"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Potions class was odd. Yep, odd was the word. It was the last class of the day and Harry, who stayed in the back of the class along with Ron, Hermione and Amala could easily see that everybody turned their heads from time to time to observe Amala's reactions. Now that her relationship with Snape was official, everybody wanted to see them interact.

Snape didn't agree with their visions on the subject, though, and he acted as he usually did: snapping around, taking points off Gryffindor and giving some to Slytherin, glaring at everybody and, of course, making Harry's life as bad as it could possibly be. So, naturally, the end of the class was a relief to everybody, including Amala.

When they finally settled down in the common room, the discussions started.

"Don't know how you can stand it" Lavender told Amala in a very affected way. "After all, he's such a slimy git."

"Did he make a pass at you?" Parvati asked. "What did he offer you to be with him?"

Harry rolled his eyes as Amala growled something. He sat down on the floor and started playing chess with Ron. Both were quite absent-minded as they played, though, because the conversation between Amala, Parvati and Lavender went on and became interesting to observe.

"He's a very nice person in private and no, he didn't offer me anything to be with him" Amala said and sat down next to the two boys. "I wanna watch this game now, it's very exciting" she said and Harry stared at her as she interestedly watched the chess piece move on the board. What! Oh, she was trying to get rid of them.

"Why _are_ you going out with him!" Lavender asked with her gossipy tone. "I mean, I'd understand if you went of with Lockhart, but Snape… And he's so _old_"

"Who's Lockhart?" Amala asked with a frown.

"Oh, the _dreamiest_ teacher we ever had" Parvati said, fluttering her eyelashes.

"A complete idiot with a stupid smile" Ron said and Hermione appeared in the group, seeming quite surprised to see Amala watching the game of chess as she'd repeatedly said she found the game boring as hell and too long.

"Seconding that" Hermione said with a small blush. "He wasn't too much of a teacher, I can see that now. Though I must admit he looked nice. He was a complete idiot and a narcissist"

"What!" Ron asked, frowning at Hermione. "He didn't seem to be the type to hurt himself to me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Not a masochist, you idiot. A narcissist, completely in love with himself"

"Oh. That he was" Ron replied grinning sheepishly.

"I'm glad I don't know him then" Amala said with an amused smile.

"Yes, but why _are _you going out with Snape?" Lavender asked and Amala gritted her teeth. "He could be your father, you know!"

"Then let's thank God he isn't!" Amala said. "Now, Harry… Which move did you last make? I kinda lost it"

"Um…" Harry said and looked at the board. "I moved my queen to A6."

"And I just took it with my knight" Ron said, grinning at him as he ordered the knight to take the queen.

"Damn" Harry swore and Amala smiled.

"This is _so_ exciting!" she said with a fake smile. "Oh, ow, that must've hurt… Haven't you learnt never to hit a lady!"

The knight just stared at her oddly, just like everybody else. Amala pretended not to notice.

"He's so horrible to you, isn't he?" Lavender said compassionately towards Amala. "Does he hurt you?"

"Never" Amala said with a glare before spotting Ginny who was just walking down the stairs. "Ginny!" she said. "What have you been reading lately?"

"Umm…" she said with a thoughtful look before she saw the desperate look on Amala's face. "A very interesting book, I forgot it's name, but I can show it to you. I just returned it to the library. Come on, let me show you!"

"Thanks!" Amala said, jumping up. "See you later, guys. Tell me who won"

"I did" Ron replied, sending his pawn a bit forward on the board. "Check mate"

"Exhilarating!" Amala cried as both she and Ginny walked out through the portrait.

"He must've given her some potion" Lavender said as both she and Parvati got up. "Did you see how she acted? We _must_ talk her out of this! Come with me"

The two walked up the stairs to the dorms while the other three stared after her.

"Poor Amala" Harry remarked.

"No kidding" Hermione replied and sighed. "Those two are horrible and I wouldn't blame her if she did something stupid tonight, when she gets back."

"Neither would I" Ron and Harry said in the same time.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Sirius walked towards the huge castle, not seeming to be very happy. Yes, Iris and him were back together, but he wasn't sure how he would act when Simnai was around. He couldn't get the thought of Iris cheating on him again out of his head. He didn't want to share and he wasn't sure if he could bare the elf's presence.

He frowned, wondering about the Fal'silians who stayed in the castle. So, there would be Akanai Kenden… He was ok. Sania Demonheart, she was nice. Simnai… he didn't want to think about him. Varamesh… he was a close friend of Simnai and Sirius knew nothing else of him. And these people would all be in Hogwarts, and possibly, but not surely, others would be coming and going. Sybille was back in the kingdom and she was ruling it along with the viceroy and Maxwell, the viceroy's son. Sirius had no idea what to make of Maxwell's status in the politics of the Fal'sil, but that was not such an important problem.

He wondered briefly if the students had gotten to see the elves and the half-elf, since they'd only arrived at the castle at about midnight, having some things to solve. Apparently, Kenden would had had to make it there sooner since he was the new Transfiguration Professor until McGonagall was out of St Mungo's. Poor McGonagall… Sirius had always respected her and felt quite sorry that she was in hospital again. She was old and she was hurt a lot in battles… He wished her a good luck inside his mind as the doors of the castle opened to let him in.

He walked up and down the corridors towards Iris's rooms and, after a few turns here and there, he could easily see Sania walking around, looking quite confused. When she heard his steps, she turned towards him and smiled with excitement.

"Sirius!" she cried happily. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

"Huh?" he asked, frowning.

"I'm lost" she said simply with a shrug. "And I can't find anybody to show me where anything is! I'm so lost…" Raising her head and sniffing the air in a tragic way she said "Find me, I'm lost!"

As Sirius stared at her curiously for a few seconds, she bit her lower lip before pouting and making puppy-eyes.

"Please, Siri…" she pleaded sweetly and offered him her arm.

"Of course!" he said, finally getting in the role of his character and sliding his arm around hers. "Where to?"

"Wherever you like, my knight in shiny armor. Oh, _thank you_" she replied in a damsel in distress voice.

"Anywhere?" Sirius asked, mock-insinuating.

"Anywhere. Where were you heading to, milord?" she asked sweetly.

"Iris's rooms" he replied simply and then he smiled mischievously. "Would you like me to take you there?"

"What! How _dare_ you!" she asked, taking a hand to her mouth, in mock-shock. "How _dare_ you take me to the rooms of your beloved! Oh, please, I _know_ what you have in mind, you horrible man! You want to take me there and then, then!… _then_ you want to take advantage of poor little me and ravage me in her _own _bed! How dirty of you! How dare you!"

"Um…" Sirius said, raising an amused eyebrow at her. "Actually, I have no intention to do that"

"Oh, but please!" she said quickly. "Please, please, pleasepleaseplease!"

Sirius laughed as they walked like that, arm in arm towards Iris's rooms. Sania seemed to be bored, out of all things and she was clinging on to him desperately, probably in mockery of her role. Now _there_ was a crazy girl.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Sybille was smiling at the queen's advisors as she fed them some very interesting information. Yep, very interesting indeed. And very false. Perfect for giving those who would be fired. And gods, how she loved Jane for telling her to fire them! And Cecilia would be going bye-bye soon.

"So, then, we'll be allying with Eleutheria soon" she concluded and the advisors grinned. "But please don't forget that the only reason you are to know this is because you are her majesty's advisors… if such news is found out, we might have quite a lot of problems. Eleutheria is not seen very well by our enemies"

"Of course, milady!" one of the advisors said, eyes wide. "It is interesting that we never heard of Eleutheria until now"

"It has more than one name" Sybille said, smiling in a frightening way. "You've probably heard some of the other names, but this name is the one which quite a lot of people use… about ten, eleven million of them use this name"

"Ten-eleven million!" another advisor gaped. "How come we've never heard of it then?"

"They call it that back on Earth and Earth _is_ the queen's home" Sybille said with a very wicked smile. "I should be going back to my duties now"

The advisors watched her as she turned on her heels and walked out of the room nobly, but quickly.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Amala ate her food at dinner with quite a lot of hunger. Ginny and her had been walking down the corridors, chatting about different things for about an hour, before they went to the Great Hall for a good meal.

"You're starting to rival Ron" Ginny laughed.

"Oh, shut up" she replied, rolling her eyes and looking towards the teachers' table where Severus was chatting with Flitwick. Dumbledore was eating merrily and talking with Simnai the elf. Him, Varamesh and Sania had appeared at breakfast and had earned their share of stalks down corridors and of weird looks before students started taking their presence as normal.

"Hey look" Ginny said and Amala instantly turned to see whatever Ginny was talking about. "Lavender and Parvati are coming!"

"Goody" Amala replied and looked at her food for about two seconds before saying: "I just lost my appetite"

Ginny laughed.

"Would you rather we go to the kitchens?" she suggested.

"Sure!" Amala replied and got up in the same time as Ginny, which was –wow, how surprising- the exact same time when Lavender and Parvati made it to them.

"Hey, wait, we want to talk to you" Lavender said as friendly as she could.

"Sorry, I need to go the bathroom" Amala said, shooting her a smile. With a short goodbye nod, she and Ginny departed quickly, leaving the two behind, offended.

"Close one!" Ginny laughed.

"Too close" Amala laughed back as they got out of the Great Hall and walked towards the kitchen.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"What will it be this year, Harry?" Ron asked and Harry frowned at them, as they (plus Hermione) entered the Great Hall.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Well, let's see" Ron said, counting on his fingers. "First year, the whole philosopher stone, dead Quirrel thingy. Second year, the stuff with the basilisk and the petrified people and the diary and the chamber of secrets, third year everything about Sirius being a murderer and him "attacking" the school…"

The trio sat down in front of Lavender and Parvati. Ron continued.

"Fourth year, you get yourself in the Tournament, nearly killing yourself, in fifth year Umbridge comes and everything's a mess, sixth year it's the whole war-green-flame-torch-Towers thingy… So what's it going to be this year? Because I sure as hell don't think it'll be a boring year"

"I'm hoping for it" Harry replied and Hermione chuckled.

"It won't happen" she said amusedly. "Not with you in the school, Harry… I'm willing to bet that our last year will end with a bang!"

"Let's hope it's a good one, then" Harry replied, putting some food in his plate and starting to eat. God, wasn't it good? Those wonderful, baked potatoes and that juicy stake… oh, yeah, he was hungry.

"What are you scowling at!" Hermione said next to him, making him look up surprised, to see her glaring at Lavender.

"Snape has some kind of a spell on your friend!" she said.

"No he doesn't" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes, he has! She was much nicer last year and now, look at her! Running away from us all the time! We'll make her see the light!"

"I wouldn't dare do that if I were you" Hermione glared.

"Gonna hex us, your brilliantness?" Parvati asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nope" Hermione said, taking a fork of potatoes. "She'll do it herself"

"Yeah, right" Lavender said, rolling her eyes incredulously. Hermione shrugged at her before taking one more fork of food. Meanwhile, on her right, Ron was stuffing himself.

It didn't take long for Harry to finish his food and he waited patiently for Hermione and Ron to finish theirs. Hermione noticed he'd finished and smiled at him.

"You go right ahead, Harry, don't wait for us, we'll be late"

Harry raised an eyebrow before getting up and noticing Luna was just getting out of the Great Hall. He smiled and hurried after her. He might as well take for a walk through the castle.

He got out of the Great Hall just in time to see her disappear after a corner and ran after her.

"Wait up!" he said loudly and, in less than a second, Luna was leaning back from behind the corner, looking dreamily at him.

"Yes?" she asked as he nearly collided with her. She didn't seem unfazed in the slightest.

"Would you mind me waling you to wherever you're going?" he asked, flashing her a smile.

"Please, come" she replied, smiling at him and finally reverting in a normal position, straightening her spine and standing tall in front of him, not a leaning-backward one.

He took her hand –her left hand as she was way too close to the right wall for him to even try to squeeze between it and her- and they started walking down the corridor.

"How was your first day?" Harry asked and she smiled dreamily.

"Great. Yours?"

"Very nice. Kenden is a great teacher" Harry replied.

"I agree" Luna said. "He's like a king, so powerful… and good-looking, too. He seems to be a warrior-girl's dream"

"Um…" Harry said confusedly, not knowing what to reply to that. "Yeah?"

"Yeah" Luna replied. "I like you better though, he's too old for me"

"That's good to know" Harry replied, still confused and becoming even more confused as Luna laughed soundly for a reason only she knew. "Why are you laughing?" he decided to ask. Luna only laughed harder.

"You're so… sweet!" she laughed. "I love you Harry!"

Harry watched her confused and, before he knew it, the words slipped from his mouth.

"I love you too" he replied and she chuckled before kissing him on the lips. He replied to her kiss, still wondering what was going on as she deepened it before suddenly breaking the connection.

"Come on, I need to get to the Common Room soon" she said and pulled his hand slightly. Harry followed her on a relatively short way to a portrait of a wise-looking old man. "Well, I can't tell you the password, so you'd better go"

"Okay… see you later" he replied and she nodded happily towards him. He smiled back and turned on his heels. Before he went round the corner, he heard her say something but didn't quite understand what.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Hey" Sania said, watching the older man sit down on the couch in the common living room that she, the two elves and Kenden shared.

"Hey" he replied and, after a second, decided to lie down. "Am I tired"

"I don't know, are you?" she playfully replied.

"Gods, yes" he replied and sighed. "But it's better now"

She smiled at him and decided that, well, she could give it a shot. After all, he was an absolutely amazing-looking guy and he had one great personality and… wow.

"I'm going to ask you the question at least half the girls in the school would want to know the answer to" she said playfully.

"Mmm?" he asked, looking at her curiously. "Which is…?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Sania asked innocently and he chuckled.

"Yes" he replied.

"Not again" she moaned and chuckled.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "That is, if I want to know"

"Urgh" she replied and sat down next to him –well, next to his chest, as he was lying down- "every time I land my eyes on a great guy, poof! He's taken. I mean, let's see… there was this elf, he has a wife. Then I liked Jack Towers, he went out with Tonks. I liked another elf, seemed he liked men, not women"

Kenden laughed at that, but she continued.

"Then I get sent to the Forbidden Forest and spend my time with all the wonderful creatures there. Then I manage to escape my duties. Then I like Sirius, I find out, hey! He's with Iris. I sigh to myself, want to go out with Varamesh, even for a few dates, I find out he's been with somebody for ten years. Then I like Maxwell, he's engaged. I actually consider going out with Malfoy, only to find out he's dating Ginny Weasley. You, my friend, are just the last drop"

"Wow" Kenden laughed. "When you have bad luck, you really have bad luck, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah" Sania replied exasperatedly and felt his arm sneak around her waist. She frowned towards him and he smiled in an amused way.

"You asked whether I had a girlfriend, not whether I wanted to go out with you" he said.

"What about your girlfriend?" she asked biting her lower lip.

"We never got married because neither of us is a saint" Kenden replied and smiled slightly. "Getting married is similar to swearing we'll never be with anybody else for the rest of our lives… which is not really the truth"

"Open relationship?" Sania asked.

"Yes" he replied amusedly. "If you have a problem with that, I…"

"I have nooo problem with that" Sania replied and chuckled, lying down on him in a casual way. He was now holding her in his arms and her hair fell on his face. He didn't seem to mind, though.

"If you're sure" he replied and kissed her lips.

"I definitely don't" she replied and smiled mischievously as she slid her hand under his shirt. "I really like you"

He smiled amusedly towards her and asked:

"My bedroom or yours?"

"Yours" she replied quickly and got off him. He got up after her and put a hand over her shoulders, leading him to his bedroom. He locked the door behind them, just in case one of the elves decided to interrupt and, after a short thought, placed a silencing charm on the room. He turned towards Sania who smiled at him.

"Can I use your bathroom?" she asked and he nodded. "Thanks"

He lied down on the bed for about two minutes before she emerged from the bathroom and jumped in the bed. He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Do you usually jump into bed with guys?" he replied with a question and she laughed, getting on top of him.

"No, I usually lie down" she answered, her eyes twinkling. He smiled before insisting.

"And in the less literal way?"

"No not even then" she replied and bit her lower lip, suddenly thoughtful. "You don't think I'm one of those easy women, do you? 'Cause I'm not, really! I think you're the first guy with whom I ever…"

"Whoa, whoa" Kenden laughed as he looked at her embarrassed face. "I know. I'm not the one to judge. One elf of yours told me many things about you"

"Who?" she asked curiously.

"Teron" the older man replied simply.

"He was a great guy" Sania replied dreamily. "Too bad he ended up with Julie"

"He only had words to praise you" the man replied and turned them both so he was on top. "I liked you since I first saw you"

"Hmm, you were pretty high on my list, too" she replied mischievously before she was drawn into a kiss.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Voldemort raised an eyebrow as a man entered the room. He wasn't one of the Death Eaters, but he was a spy on the Fal'sil and therefore, very useful. Only before, he didn't know about nearly anything except the general plans about the kingdom, their allies, enemies, etcetera.

"Come in" he said and smiled horribly.

"My lord" the man said and bowed deeply, Fal'silian style. "I have interesting news"

"Oh?" Voldemort asked curiously.

"Lady Sybille gathered us today and told us of some very interesting plans queen Chase has made" he said and Voldemort groaned on the inside. The Fal'silian people were way too respectful of their leaders and old traditions for his liking. He didn't trust his spy on long term, but, alas, he knew that he would bring useful information at least for awhile… if he could get it. Of course, one day he might revert to being faithful to his queen, which was not good. Voldemort didn't really like any of the Fal'sil, or Fal'silians or whatever they called themselves –the exact names of anything that included 'Fal'sil' in the name was still a mystery to him and to most people, since the language the word came from was long forgotten and people called things as it came to their tongue, which was very annoying-… So, rant over, he never really liked them since they were generally powerful and noble and true to their cause. Of course, there were exceptions…

"What plans?" He asked.

"She wants to ally us to some kingdom" the man replied. "It seems to be important. Lady Sybille told us that if word got out of this alliance, may people would not be pleased."

"What kingdom?" Voldemort asked.

"She called it 'Eleutheria'" the man replied.

"It rings a bell" Voldemort said and frowned. "What do you know about it?"

"Not much" the man admitted. "She said that it had many names and that 'Eleutheria' was used by ten-eleven million people"

"Hmmm" Voldemort said, pacing around the room thinking. "Eleutheria… Where have I heard this word before? Eleutheria…"

Suddenly, he stopped pacing and he narrowed his eyes dangerously before turning to the man in fury.

"It's not a kingdom!" he cried and the man jumped back a little. "Hell, it means 'freedom' in Greek! She's been feeding you wrong information."

"Damn" the man swore. "It's standard technique, feeding wrong information… she'll be dismissing us soon. Queen's orders, probably"

"Chase doesn't trust you, that foolish little child" Voldemort said and sighed slowly. "See what other job you can get"

"Yes, sire" the man replied and exited the room. Meanwhile, Voldemort paced around the room furiously. Eleutheria… He'll show that idiotic woman what it meant to mock him…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Amala… We want to talk to you" Lavender said, closing in on her roommate.

"I'm soooo tired" Amala said with a fake smile. "Tomorrow, perhaps?"

Hermione watched curiously as Amala backed down towards her bed. This would _not_ end up well. The bedroom was small and the two girls would go against Amala, who would react badly… But Hermione swore to herself she wouldn't interfere unless Amala had trouble. She definitely wouldn't interfere if the other two did.

"No!" Parvati cried. "You're avoiding us!"

"I wonder why" Amala replied sarcastically and the two girls gasped.

"You're starting to even _talk_ like him!" Lavender said. "What _has_ he done to you?"

"Leave it!" Amala said and glared at them. "Please!"

"You need to be helped!" Parvati said, shaking her head slightly.

"My personal life is not of any importance to you" Amala said, backing down against her bed. "Please, don't interfere!"

"He must've given you a potion of some sort" Lavender said, tutting slightly. "Or used a hex. Poor girl, you can't see straight now"

"I can see perfectly" Amala replied, blinking at them. "Leave me alone!"

"No, we want to help you" Lavender insisted and walked towards Amala who glared at her.

"I don't need any help, there's nothing wrong with me!" she cried in frustration. "Why can't you see it? I love him, he loves me, everything's alright!"

"Imperius? Oh, he's going to Azkaban!" Lavender said with sorrow. "You'll thank us one day for this, you'll see"

"I don't think so" Amala said and, as Lavender closed in on her, took out her wand. "Stop trying to help me, this part of my life is perfect!"

"You want to hex us?" Parvati asked. "What _has_ he done to you?" she sniffed, her eyes suddenly in tears. "You were so sweet and innocent and he's made you lose your innocence, sweet Amala"

"What!" she asked, confused.

"Did he make you make love to him?" Lavender asked before a horrified look appeared on her face and she clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, God, he must have!"

"He didn't" Amala replied in a low voice. "He's a gentleman, believe it or not. He never touched me" okay, she was exaggerating, but still.

"Even obliviated you" Parvati said slowly and Lavender tried to get to Amala. Quickly, though, Amala put her wand under the girl's nose and growled to her.

"One step, and you'll wish you never tried to "help" me"

"But" Lavender said and took that critical step…

Hermione watched as all hell broke loose. Amala was _not_ a good spell caster. Which, as she had found out one day from a book, was much worse than being able to cast small spells perfectly since a spell cast just partially right, and especially, a hex that was cast just partially right was much harder to undo afterwards and sometimes had worse effects than the original one. And Amala was one of those very dangerous people who cast hexes and curses partially right… Yep, all hell broke loose.

"Densaugeo!" she cried towards Lavender and the girl managed to duck. "Fernunculus!"

"She's gone mad!" Parvati cried as she was hit by the spell and boils appeared all over her neck. "AAAAAAAA!"

Lavender got her wand out, but Amala was quicker.

"Tarantallegra!" she cried and Lavender, instead of doing the tarantella, ended up doing one of those Russian jumping-dances, kicking her feet up in the air and dropping her wand before falling on the floor.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Parvati cried, but Amala ducked quickly.

"Rictusempra!" she cried and Parvati was fully hit and collapsed in giggles. Amala stood there furiously and then shouted over Parvati's giggles and Lavender's pants and hits in the beds: "You're two idiots!"

Hermione watched as the girl disappeared through the door and she wondered where she was going like that. After all, it was after curfew and even considering any understanding she might have from Snape, it was rather unlikely she'd run into him and not, say, Filch. But then again, maybe she was lucky… Or maybe she would just go downstairs?

With a sigh, the smartest witch in the year tried to undo Amala's magic, but she found it difficult to do so. Yep, messed up spells were really buggers.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Severus shot a rare smile towards Flitwick as the small, cheery man gave another one of his funny comments. He'd never been too friendly to the man, but after all, he was one of the most intelligent people in the school… and a good dueler. He was a nice person to talk with and a funny person at that. It was a shame he hadn't wanted to join the Order since a good dueler was always needed, but as Flitwick had said it himself, he was too old to fight in the war.

He said a short goodbye to the man as the other Professor exited his office and went to his own rooms, feeling surprisingly alright with the world. Flitwick had made a few comments on his relationship with Amala, but they friendly ones and not blaming at all. He appreciated that in the small man.

He got into his bedroom and was just about to take down his robes when somebody knocked slowly on the door. He raised an eyebrow and walked to the entrance of the room, wondering who it would be. Well, he had a feeling it would be Amala, but it _was_ after curfew and what would she be doing there?

He opened the door and, to his surprise, there she was, in front of his door, smiling sheepishly.

"Hello, Amala" Severus said and shot a smile at her in a pleasant, yet curious way as he let her in his rooms.

"Hi" she replied, biting her lips. "I shouldn't have come…"

"You're always welcomed" he replied and closed the door behind her and locked it with a charm.

"Not quite what I meant" Amala replied with a very disturbed smile. "Everybody knows that I… that we… that you and I…"

Severus chuckled slightly and leaned down to kiss her, before putting his arms around her, deciding for something in a moment's notice.

"So? It's not against the rules or the law… Let them gossip"

Amala frowned as she looked in his eyes.

"What are you playing at? You're not supposed to be this cheerful" she said.

"Perhaps I want to bed you" he replied with an amused smile, his arms still around her, going down towards her waist. "Maybe that's why I'm… cheerful"

"Severus…" she started a warning, but he silenced her with a soft kiss, pulling her even closer to him. It didn't work all that well, though. "People will talk"

"They'll talk anyway" he replied. "But why did you come?"

"Had a fight with Lavender and Parvati" she replied and chuckled slightly. "About you"

"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "One might think they have enough sense not to do it. Remind me to take fifty points off them tomorrow"

"We're in the same House!" Amala said and glared at him as he chuckled darkly. "And besides, I hexed them with my _awful_ spells and now Parvati's laughing like an idiot and Lavender's doing a… _polka_ or what's that jumpy Russian dance?"

"I'll ask Albus to transfer you to Slytherin" he replied with a laugh. "I'm surprised you didn't run into Filch when you came here, though"

"So am I" she said and looked at him a bit thoughtfully.

"Now, how about we go to bed, hmm?" Severus asked and could tell that her mouth dried.

"I don't… I'm not ready… please" she pleaded, but he just chuckled darkly before practically dragging her on the couch. "Severus!" she squealed.

"Shh" he shushed her as he lied down, her on top of him. "Nothing will happen… unless you want it to"

"I don't want to" she replied, a bit scared.

"Okay" he said and started petting her hair. "Shh…"

It took her some time to relax and Severus knew that she did it because she felt she was on top of the situation. Well, she quite literally was, but that was another story. But when she relaxed, he knew he had his chance. He kissed her neck several times before biting her slightly and making her gasp in surprise.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, offended.

"You mind?" he asked in his silkiest voice. When she didn't reply, he just muttered a "good".

Now, Severus was a true Slytherin. And he knew what he wanted. And he knew what he had to do to gain it. He had to go straight through the girl's defenses and convince her to make love to him –well, what did you think he wanted to do? Pat her gently on the head and kiss her goodnight?-. Maybe he wouldn't manage it tonight, but it sure was a good occasion and he could always resume later.

Of course he loved her: there was no doubt. He knew what love was and he felt it for her… But he also wanted to make love to her. And he knew she would like it, too… If only he'd manage to convince her that he would _not_ be taking advantage of her or hurt her.

As their playing around became more heated, he decided he should ask the question he knew she was dreading:

"Shouldn't we move to bed?" he purred in her ear.

She looked at him, eyes indeed not very happy. He sighed slowly.

"I'm not ready, Severus, really…" she said slowly.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Come on. I'm with you. I won't hurt you."

She stayed there, in silence, pondering about what she should do before biting her lip slightly.

"Let's go. But it doesn't mean anything!" she added quickly and he smirked.

"Of course it doesn't" he responded sarcastically as she stood up. He got up and took her hand. "Nothing _at all_"

"Severus" she said slowly as he smirked. "Sometimes you scare me"

"You too?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Amazing. Not even my own lover is comfortable in my presence"

"Could you please stop being so sarcastic?" she snapped and he chuckled. "You're…"

"Relaxed. You should relax, too" he replied, amusement in his eyes as he closed the bedroom door behind them. Yes, he was relaxed and he wished her to be, too. "Sit down, make yourself comfortable"

Amala uncomfortably sat down on the bed and Severus sighed deeply. How on Earth could she be _that_ uncomfortable? She hadn't been like that before, when she'd spent the night together… But then again, before he hadn't acted quite like this. But why was she so afraid? He wondered.

She lied down as he stretched down next to her and kicked his shoes off. Definitely better than the couch, he mused as his hair fell down on her face.

"You know" he said, "You are so scared of something you'd like so much"

"Pardon?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You heard me" he said amused. "Stop worrying so much. Forget everything people told you about this subject, they're not the ones who are here, you are."

"Please, Severus" she pleaded slowly. "Don't force me to…"

"I'm not forcing you" he sighed. "I'm not. Relax. Don't tell me not to go too far. You know what we'll do?"

"What?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"I'll do whatever crosses my mind and you'll tell me where you want us to stop, alright?" he said and saw her nod slightly. He smiled sincerely at her and well… he started slowly, indeed. And from the very beginning.

She didn't say anything about the light kisses on her lips. Or about the deeper ones. About him caressing her hair. About moving his hands over the upper part of her body. About slipping a hand on her stomach. About leaning down to kiss it. About moving his hands up and on the parts of her body.

Nor did she say anything when he finally touched her breasts and caressed them slowly. She actually started touching him, caressing his hair by the time his lips were on her navel. The moment he wanted to take her blouse off, she said something.

"Umm… stop?" she said slowly and he raised an eyebrow.

"You know that I've felt everything you have under there, don't you?" he asked amusedly. "What's the difference, with it or without it?"

She frowned slightly before rolling her eyes.

"Fine" she replied and he smirked, taking off her blouse.

And then, he kept becoming more and more daring. Soon enough, she'd lost herself in the feelings too much to notice that his hand was a bit lower than where she'd put her imaginary limits. She did notice after some time, when he became bolder, though. But she couldn't complain, somehow she'd fallen into fascination with him and could only watch amazed as he took off her pants. Then he took a few seconds to get in the same state as her before moving back to the complicated task of getting her to lighten up.

It took her awhile to forget her defenses, but finally she did… And although at first it seemed as if she'd been right to fear all along, it turned out, a bit later, that she hadn't been quite that right.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Harry watched amazedly as Hermione and Ginny went down together, Amala not with them.

"Where's…?" he started asking, but Hermione cut him off.

"She's had a fight with Lavender and Parvati the other night" she chuckled. "Parvati ended up laughing like a maniac and with tones of boils on her neck and Lavender danced like crazy. It took me nearly twenty minutes to take off the hexes"

"She hexed them!" Harry frowned.

"Did she ever!" Ginny laughed. "Oh, I could hear the cries as if they were near me!"

"So could I" Ron replied and chuckled. "What a night… But where is she?"

"She fled after the battle" Hermione said thoughtfully. "If I'm not mistaking, she made it safely to wherever she went or she'd been back at some point. I'm willing to bet she went to Snape's rooms"

"So am I!" Ginny chuckled.

"I'm not hungry anymore" Ron muttered, a mental image going through his head. The two girls laughed. "What! Don't you find the thought of them… well, _together_ disturbing?"

"Well…" Hermione said slowly and Ginny looked up towards the ceiling innocently "maybe a bit. But it's really not that bad. Come on, let's go to breakfast!"

The four of them went down to the Great Hall only to find Amala already there, a soft smile on her lips and a dreamy look on her face. As she saw the other four, she waved at them happily.

"How's your night been?" Hermione asked amusedly.

"Wonderful. I'll be giving you details later" Amala replied and smiled mischievously at her before winking.

"Hey, my _appetite_!" Ron complained and Hermione laughed.

"You're too fat anyway" she said with a chuckle and he rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'll be wanting details"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

That day went on, much to Amala's amusement, just like the days that would follow it: Lavender and Parvati were avoiding her at all costs, a few Gryffindors were watching her oddly and Severus was smiling at her from time to time, even in classes! Of course, when nobody except the other three Gryffindors saw it. Hermione thought it was nice. Ron started loosing weight –whether it was due to the thoughts of her and Severus or to Hermione's comment, Amala didn't know-.

But alas, after about a week, a letter that would change many things forever appeared in her life.

It was not her day.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_Translation: _

_My dear Amala, _

_I'm happy that we've managed to finish our studies sooner and we'll be coming to visit you, along with Charlie Weasley, the British dragon caretaker. We will bring a dragon with us to guard your new school. I can't wait to see you, kitten! And I'd love to meet that boy you told me about during summer. _

_Can't wait to see you, _

_Mum._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

AN: I am starting to be very, very evil, no? First, Binns as Head of House, then Amala's parents coming to Hogwarts… And the love scene… very suggestive without going above PG-13. I love this! Lol.

Replies (and implicit thank you) to:

GamingGuy84: I don't feel sorry for Lucius and Narcissa either… That was a reason why I killed them, you know ;-) It'll be interesting to watch Avery now, since he's nuts and, you can ask anybody, people who don't care if they live or die and are also nuts can be very, very dangerous and hard to kill. Oh, and I know you don't like too much Snape/Amala, but there are a few scenes that I've been dreaming about ever since I imagined this story and especially this pairing for the first time… Some of them have already been in here, as the scenes when she first made passes at him and well… the scene in this chapter. The next one has something to do with the letter ;-). But there will also be a few _interesting_ scene soon… like a nice Avery/Voldemort interaction (which has _nothing_ to do with romance, lol) and a very nice revelation about Jack Strois… and the Four Founders… and Hogwarts itself (shouldn't have said that… shouldn't have…) and… okay, I'll stop here before I hint you the end of the story! Lol

Alcapacien: Yes! Binns is the new head of House! Mwahahaha, indeed… Wait 'til you see Harry's face when, all of a sudden… :stops suddenly: I'm sooo not telling you this! You'll have to wait 'til next chap. :wicked grin: And yes, I'm sorry about the two of them, too. But McGonagall will recover, she's a strong cat.

Soramiko: Hmm, perhaps you're right about keeping straight the English language… And yes, Binns is there for a reason –I can't wait to see him really at peace with himself (read: dead) and get Dumbledore to actually search for a new history of magic teacher :eyes light up:- And what does "ja ne" mean? I'm clueless with Japanese –although a few of my friends from another class take Japanese courses and I could've went with them…- Thanks for your most wonderful review:-)

Tsuetsu: Thank you

Marauder#3: Thanks:huge grin:

Inu-kokoro: You know, the "threesomes are always the best" thing is surprisingly very… Seer-ish. You'll See what I mean ;-) And wow, I'd sooo forgotten about McGonagall going to St Mungo's before when I wrote that. Not that if I'd remembered I'd have changed it, but still. And yes, she did come back with a cane, poor thing. I think I'll need to make it up to her. And you're right, to the Gryffindors too, or they'll kill me ;-)


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**AN:** Due to current situation, I will no longer name chapters. What current situation, you ask? The situation of not coming up with good titles, duh!

Chapter 11

"Master, I have returned!" Avery said, a dark look on his face. "Me and Lucius have managed to find a way to kill Sybille"

"Oh?" Voldemort asked, looking darkly at his servant. "And where _is_ Lucius?"

"He's at Malfoy Manor… Well, not quite" Avery replied.

"Not quite?" Voldemort raised an eyebrow.

"He's in a different world to which we opened a gateway from his Manor. He's still there, in that other world, I believe. We managed to find five demons in the shapes of large werewolves that never turn human, Master. Sybille will never know what struck her"

"Indeed" Voldemort replied, for the first time pleased with his servant. "Very good. I will see these demons a bit later. You may take some time off"

"Thank you, sire" Avery replied, smirking.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Minerva entered Dumbledore's office, seeming quite concerned about something. The Headmaster was behind his desk, reading a Muggle novel, out of what she could tell.

"Hello, Albus" she said slowly.

"Minerva" he replied, smiling over his book. "What may I help you with?"

"I'm worried" she replied and sat down. "Not that He's attacked Diagon Alley, who knows what can stop him? I can't believe you've let the Order take it easy! Especially now!"

"I wouldn't worry so much if I were you, Minerva" Albus said calmly. "Voldemort will not attack again too soon"

"How can you tell?" she asked.

"I have my ways" he replied. "Tea, perhaps?"

"No, thank you" she replied and got up. "I trust you Albus… but I hope you are not making a mistake by letting your guard down"

"I'm not letting it down too much" the Headmaster replied and smiled kindly at her. She eyed him with a bit of wonder and then she exited the room, leaving the eccentric old man to his book.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Somewhere, in a nearly forgotten world that was becoming less and less forgotten, Sybille was smirking to herself. Letting the Advisors out of service had been tons of fun, especially with her shooting bits of odd information around. "We're allying with Eleutheria"… "We're allying with Freedom" she'd said and she'd meant it. They'd be free. "The Queen is guarded by ten elves that remain hidden at all times… Do you think it is enough?" "We're creating a new type of horses that with the aid of magic can run 200 miles/hour" "We're raising dragons to guard the castle" "Do you think that training Cornish Pixies as spies would be worth a shot?"

She loved those stupid things she'd said… And she couldn't believe they bought the thing with the horses that ran at 200 miles/hour! Really now, who could stay on top of such a horse? And who could stir it right?

She went into her room and lied down on the couch, smirking to herself. With the queen gone, she and the Viceroy were ruling the kingdom, just like before. She truly liked that job and she wanted to keep it for as long as possible. And she had a feeling that queen Chase would have no problem in assigning her a great deal of power.

It wasn't that she was against the kid, really. She actually started to like her. She'd grow to be a great queen one day, Sybille was sure of that. But the older woman wanted things kept safe… And that meant under her control, if possible. She hadn't liked the last king and the feeling had been mutual, so she hadn't had too much power then, but now she would. And she would use it well.

Love, where are you hiding?- she hissed slowly and a cobra slithered towards her.

I'm not hiding- it replied simply. -Have a lot of problems lately?-

Yes and no. The Lord of Idiots is back, which is not very good for me. But the kingdom is very well, which is great… What do you think of queen Chase, Nieve?-

The cobra eyed her thoughtfully for a second before shaking her head a bit.

She is a true queen. A descendant of both Chases and Eagle. The perfect heir. She is still young… But that is not a problem. She has you and Akanai Kenden by her side-

I know- Sybille replied and gently petted the cobra. -My thoughts exactly. I think she and I will get along. And I will convince her to give us a chance, Nieve. I know she shan't look down on us because of our past.-

The cobra seemed to smile, if such a thing was possible.

She won't- it replied and paused for a few seconds. -Don't worry, Sybille, she'll let you live here… she'll let you rule beside her. She knows you're good-

The woman simply laughed and petted the cobra again, choosing not speak. Tomorrow would be another loooong day, as she had a meeting with the Council about one thing or another and then she had to make preparations to go check up on a few cities and on a few gateways to other worlds.

If either Harry or Voldemort would have been there, they'd have probably noticed that during all the dialogue, neither she nor the cobra had prolonged the 's' of any word.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Harry, Ron and Hermione entered 'their room' and grinned to each other. Yep, everything was still in place: all the books, the couches, the armchairs, everything was just as it had been. The blue and gold big room in Hogwarts was as welcoming as ever.

"I wonder what that crazy book has in store for us now" Harry joked, pointing towards the book that had welcomed them on the arrival there, which was on a table. Hermione smiled at him and opened it. It was blank.

"Nothing here" she murmured and looked around in the bookshelves. "Hey! The Book of Kings! Remember when Towers brought a copy of this one?" She sat down in an armchair. "Did you guys notice that this room tends to have a mind of its own? The book wasn't here before!"

"Sort of" Harry replied, but Hermione didn't seem to notice him as she flipped through the book, scowling a bit.

"If there' s one thing I hate about some wizarding books it's that they don't have page numbering! Really, now how am I supposed to find anything…"

Harry and Ron shared a glance and walked behind Hermione's armchair and looked down on the book as she was flipping pages. All kinds of images moved around before their eyes as she flipped through them, as if looking for something. Of course, she might've just been looking around.

Finally she landed on a picture and frowned. It showed four people, two women and two men mounted on horses in a forest… it was like a hunt.

"That guy there looks like Slytherin!" Harry said and pointed to one of them.

"Let's see what this is about" Hermione replied and put her hand over the book. "_Show me_!"

The picture started moving and the man beside Slytherin started speaking, their horses walking at a steady pace.

"Salazar, what do your little friends say?" he asked.

The other man stopped and looked at a slithering being in the grass and started hissing, while the other man watched him in something like fascination.

"What'd he say, what'd he say?" Ron asked and Harry smirked to himself.

"'Where is the stag?'… it says it's close, that he'd seen it about five minutes before and it went towards…"

Suddenly Salazar looked up towards the others and smiled, translating.

Thanksss- Salazar said. "He said the stag is close, he saw it just five minutes ago and it went towards west"

The three watched curiously as the others nodded and guided their horses in another direction than the one they'd been walking in. They seemed very peaceful and neither of the three teens could believe that Salazar turned out to be a bastard, really.

"We should get some horses to pull the carriages to the school" said one of the women. "They're so wonderful!"

"I had that in mind too, sister. How about Thestrals?" the man who wasn't Slytherin said.

"Not all will see them" she complained.

"It would be more interesting, don't you think?"

She nodded and, as the four walked around, Hermione said slowly:

"I think that they're the Founders. The man over there must be Gryffindor. The women must be Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw… I think I've seen them before in books."

The teens watched the four walk around through the forest, making small talk for awhile before getting thoroughly bored. It was interesting to see the Founders, yeah, but not _that_ interesting.

"I wonder why anybody would put that in a book" Hermione mused, before muttering 'stop' and flipping a few pages. "I'd have thought this book has _important _moments in the past in it"

"I guess these images were there for seeing the atmosphere of the time" Harry shrugged.

"Maybe you're right" Hermione replied, although the Founders being on a hunt nagged her somehow.

She closed the book and put it in the bookshelf and looked around.

"Come on" Harry said. "We need to go to dinner and see what Amala's up to and what she managed to do"

"Poor girl" Hermione muttered. "My parents are really nice and all, but I still wouldn't want them around at Hogwarts"

"I wouldn't want them here either" Ron muttered and the other two started laughing.

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"Where've you been?" Neville asked and the three smiled at him.

"In _our_ room" Harry replied and the boy grinned.

"I love that place" he said and returned to his plate. Soon enough Amala and Snape entered the Hall and she sat down in front of the trio, next to Neville.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she said, trying to be as cheery as ever, but not quite managing to. She looked a bit weary.

"We've just been to _our_ room" Hermione replied to her and she smiled. "And where might you have been? We tried to take you with us, but…"

"I was talking to Severus" she replied, her weary look returning. "About my parents. Damn, I can't believe they're coming! I'll have to tell them about Sev and everything will go straight to hell"

"Sev?" mouthed Ron and she glared at him warningly.

"How's it going with Luuuna?" Amala asked, putting a smile on her face. "Come on, spill up details!"

"Um… it's going well" Harry replied, glancing over to the Ravenclaw table before shutting up.

"Which part of 'spill up details' don't you get, Harry?" Amala asked, rolling her eyes. "Come on, tell us! How is she?"

"Bad mental image, bad mental image" Ron muttered and Harry raised an eyebrow at him.

"She's fine" the raven-haired boy replied. "She's really nice, actually…Um…"

Amala just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Okay, forget I even asked, Mr. Can't-say-two-good-words-about-my-girlfriend"

She started eating too and looked up to the teachers' table, her eyes scouting for the black-eyed Potions Master for a few seconds.

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The dinner had finished for quite awhile and Harry had managed to catch Luna before she disappeared to God-knows-where. And he'd invited her for a walk outside. So now, the two of them were walking on the shores of the lake, wishing that curfew never came.

"It's so beautiful, Harry" Luna murmured as she looked up towards where only a few clouds rested on the sky, around the moon, somehow drawing attention to it. Around the clouds, the stars shone brightly and everything was well… magical. Everything was blue and still, calm like a night in a fairytale.

"It is" the boy replied and found himself being dragged down by the girl. She'd sat down on the grass and he sat down too, next to her. Both lay silent for a few moments before she grabbed his hand in hers. He shyly leaned over to her and kissed her briefly, feeling her smile under his lips.

Such a beautiful night…

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, two figures stood, watching the two teens with wise eyes.

"The kid needs love and beauty in his life" the woman sighed.

"That he does, Naranesh" he replied. "Needs them indeed…"

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"This way, Master" Avery said, pushing open the doors of the Manor. Voldemort walked through them and looked around. The place felt empty somehow, though he couldn't tell exactly why. It probably was because of the two Malfoys being in a parallel world.

They walked up to one of the higher floors of the Manor and finally Avery opened a door.

"In here"

There, in the middle of the room stood a large black marble podium with three steps leading on it. Right in front of the stairs was an oval-shaped black marble frame in the shape of a circle, four meters tall and wide. Voldemort frowned and asked his servant:

"Why is it closed?"

"It is unwise to leave a portal opened, Master. Who knows what can come through it?" Avery pointed out and walked over to a switch, pulling it. In less than a moment, the frame filled with a silvery liquid before it seemed to clear away, showing a forest. "After you, sire"

Voldemort nodded curtly and climbed the stairs.

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"Milady" the viceroy said and Sybille stopped in her tracks.

"Yes?" she asked curiously. "What is it, Theodore?"

"Please, call me Karl"

"Only if you call me Sybille" she replied and he nodded, smirking slightly.

"Of course. I came to talk to you… Our scouts say that a portal towards the World of the Darkelings has been opened on Earth, though we don't know exactly _where_ it is"

"That's bad" she replied, thoughtfully. "Perhaps it is time I should go in a ride home? No… No, we should take care of things from here. Perhaps send a few scouts?"

"Precisely my thoughts, Sybille" Karl replied. "I'll be damned if it's not about Voldemort"

"I know how you feel" she smiled amusedly before the two of them started waling quickly in the same direction: towards a few warriors' houses.

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The common room had emptied for awhile, with the exception of a few close friends. Well, more than a few, actually. Harry was lying down on a couch, thinking, Hermione and Ron were crowded on an armchair, Amala was sitting by the fire, right on the floor while Ginny was telling her to move so she wouldn't burn herself to death and Neville was playing chess with Jane who was having a good time, although she didn't really know how to play.

"I still can't believe they're coming here" Amala said for the thousandth time that evening. "And tomorrow nevertheless!"

"Deal with it already!" Hermione said, rolling her eyes slightly. "How bad _can_ it be?"

"Horrible?" Amala suggested. "You don't know my mum. She can be such a mother hen all the time and she can be incredible in placing guilt in everybody. God, I can hear her now: 'how could you, Amala? After all the trust I had in you and this is what you do?', or 'but I raised you so well!'. She's absolutely…"

"I'm sure she's not that bad" Neville said, looking up at her from the floor.

"Shut up!" Amala glared at him. "You'll see tomorrow! And dad… He lives in a world of his own sometimes, you can tell him things and they go right past his ears, you know?"

"We know" a few people in the room complained and Ginny rolled her eyes, dropping herself on the floor.

"Listen, stop complaining, ok? Be happy tonight, if you won't be able to do it tomorrow. Come on! Give us a break, too! We're sorry for you, all of us, but really!"

Amala glared at her and Ginny looked her in the eyes.

"You can go to… Severus's bedroom tonight, live your moments of freedom and deal with things tomorrow. Carpe Diem!"

"Ginny!" Ron shrieked and everybody looked at him, realizing they'd have a show. "I can't believe you said that!"

"What?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow. "Can't little Ronnikins bare the thought of his friend _actually_ being with Snape, or the thought of his sister not being completely innocent, as she was when she was three?"

"Both actually" he groaned. "How can you say that? About her doing that! I honestly thought you could censure your words a bit"

"They _were_ censured" Ginny replied and Hermione and Amala giggled. "Really, Ron, sometimes I wonder…"

"You know what _I_ wonder?" Ron asked, glaring at her.

"I have a feeling you'll tell me"

"What you've been doing with Malfoy"

Ginny stared at him silently for a few seconds before growling like a lion.

"You'd go berserk" she replied and lied on her back on the floor.

"_What have you been doing with him, Ginny Weasley_!" Ron growled menacingly.

"Sibling fight!" Amala cried, actually delighted for the first time that day. Everybody else stared at her. "What!"

"Many things" Ginny replied, avoiding to look at him. "But really, Ron, you know I'm a smart girl, I wouldn't get myself in trouble…"

"GINEVRA!" he cried.

"Lay off, Ronald!" she snarled in response. "I might tell you one day, but right now, I don't want to! Get it! I haven't slept with him yet, ok?"

"Yet!" Ron growled, but she didn't reply. So he settled for sitting cross-armed on the armchair, looking very pissed.

"There goes my distraction for tonight" Amala muttered and nearly everybody –except Jane and Harry- glared at her. "I'm going to bed, I know I'm pathetic"

With that, she climbed to her feet, waved the goodnight and climbed the stairs to her dorm. It was really quiet and they were starting to drift off when Hermione remarked:

"It's much more quiet now, without all the whining"

"No kidding?" asked Ron, still glaring at his sister who was watching the chess game with very much interest.

"She's usually not a whiner, I wonder why she acted like that" Hermione mused.

"You think too much" Harry replied, before getting up. "I'm sleepy. Night!"

"Night!" the others replied as he too went to his dorms.

"I haven't done _that _much with Draco" Ginny said, suddenly looking towards her brother. "So, you should apologize for your outburst"

"'m sorry" he muttered darkly. "And you'd better not have done anything"

Ginny rolled her eyes, before she too going to bed and dragging Jane with her. Neville got the point and said goodbye to the couple soon after the two had left.

"We're all alone" Hermione said suggestively.

"Yeah, we are" Ron replied and smiled widely. "What's my sister been doing with Draco? Do you know?"

"Well…" Hermione drifted off. "She'll answer that when time comes."

Ron opened his mouth to reply to that, but he was cut off soon by her mouth on his. And so they snogged into the deeper hours of the night, neither daring to actually take their relationship any further.

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Voldemort smirked to himself as he was led by Avery through the dark forest. Oh, yes, this would be a very good place from where he could get his servants.

"Just a bit more" the Death Eater said and suddenly they were in a clearing. And in the middle of the clearing were…

"Lucius… Narcissa" muttered Voldemort, eyeing the two corpses with surprise. "What happened?"

"They died" Avery replied with a dark smirk.

"I can see that, you fool, but how?" Voldemort snapped.

"Hit by the Avada Kedavra… The Avada Kedavras that I cast"

Voldemort looked at him and snarled furiously.

"Traitor! You will now die at the hands of the Dark Lord, for treason!…"

"And I'm taking him with me" Avery replied, taking out a dagger from his robes. Voldemort raised his wand to deflect the throwing of the dagger, but it never came. Instead, Avery cut his own veins.

"Are you mad?" he asked and the Death Eater laughed the laugh of a madman. "Fool. Crucio!"

The laughter was replaced by screams and the man trashed on the ground, blood flowing everywhere. Voldemort raised his wand, ready to cast the killing curse when he heard sounds around in the woods. He turned and saw a few dark beings nearing him with open mouths and his eyes darted quickly to Avery who had weakly started laughing again. And he realized why he'd cut his veins…

To call the creatures…

And for the first time in many, many years, Voldemort felt truly and deeply afraid.

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AN: Shortest chapter I've written since… well, a long, long time. On this story, I mean. But hey, it's an update and a definite step forward in the story!

Oh, and last chapter I made a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge mistake :bumps head against the wall: I killed Seamus and then I put him _right_ in Transfiguration class… and made him bark like a dog. Thanks to everybody who told me of this –I changed it the instant I saw those reviews… after all, I'd been thinking about Dean and I wrote Seamus…- :once again bashes head against wall: And for the second mistake I made… thanks marauder#3!

Replies to reviews (and thanks to everybody who read + double thanks to everybody who reviewed!):

Inu-kokoro: lol, yes, poor Amala indeed… We'll get to see her parents next chapter, when they actually make it here. And yes, she's made love to Sev. I couldn't be very explicit, since I want to keep this PG-13 (although all the 13 year-olds probably know what the fuss is all about anyway) And well… there's not much more I can think of saying right now, so thanks for the great review:grin:

Soramiko: That's ok, I kinda understood what it meant from the context, lol. About Seamus: I'll go bang my head against the wall some more. And ah, the scene with Amala's parents will be :licks her lips: _delightful _. I have it planned for… about a year, I think. It's one of the first scenes that popped into my mind about this story (the others… I'll spill out a few. Amala rescuing Sirius, her first interactions with Snape, Towers being a teacher and him fleeing as a dragon. Some others are soon to come ;-) ) Thanks for your great review!

Marauder#3: thanks for pointing out the two mistakes:again, bashes her head against the wall: I've got to stop doing that. :grins widely: Thanks for the wonderful review!

Tsuetsu:bows: Thank you!

Alcapacien: Lol. The Transfiguration class didn't come out too well at first (read my AN) but I'm quite pleased with it now, too. And… the 5th year being his dad… Nope, sorry mate. No James or Lily revivals here. And those poor kids were just that: poor kids. (why poor? Because they had History of Magic!) Thanks for the review!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**AN:** Due to current situation, I will no longer name chapters. What current situation, you ask? The situation of not coming up with good titles, duh!

Note: fluff including Severus and Amala will be put between DDDDDDDDs instead of IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIs.

This is the chapter when we meet Amala's parents! Wahoo! I get to have quite a bit of fun, yay:wicked grin:

Chapter 12

_And for the first time in many, many years, Voldemort felt truly and deeply afraid. _

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Avery was still laughing softly, yet his laughter had something mad in it… But Voldemort couldn't deal with him right now, he had different problems to take care of.

The beings were eyeing him hungrily, their black bodies shivering in anticipation of the feast. Everything was deadly quiet for a few seconds, before the first creature jumped and all hell broke loose.

Voldemort gripped his wand tighter and started shooting spells in all directions, as well as casting protective spells all around him. He saw, with the corner of his eye, some large creatures jumping on Lucius, Narcissa and Avery and taking bites out of him, the man's laughter turning into screams of pain. And then, some small, about half a foot tall creatures jumped on him too and devoured everything that was left. Even the Dark Lord shivered as he shot curses in every direction at once.

He suddenly felt a bite on his ankle and he looked down, eyes widening in fear as he saw that the same small creatures that had reduced the three to nothing but bones were nearing him now, one of them having already munched on his ankle.

"REDUCTO!" he shrieked and a few of the creatures were blown backwards. Then, he turned back to his larger opponents, a werewolf-like creature nearing him very quickly. He hit it with the killing curse and realized with some stupor, that the creature was only thrown off course a bit. He let out a swear word and his wand shot green sparks everywhere, confusing his opponents for a few seconds.

And again he felt the little teeth sinking in his legs, in his back… They were all over him! In a burst of inspiration, he tapped himself with the wand and cried some words, a pair of bat-like black wings growing on his back. He shot up into the air and started doing crazy loops in hope of losing the things on his back.

He was officially panicked: the creatures wouldn't let go, they instead bit him even harder and he knew that he was full of blood. In madness, he shot towards some trees and hit his back against them many times, feeling the things let go and fall down in pain. The last one he shot down with a curse.

And then he could see where his plan had a flaw: there were flying things too, not only walking ones, so he shot through the trees as quickly as he could, seeing a thestral behind him… an untamed, very dark thestral that wouldn't have any problem with eating him alive.

Voldemort was trying to remember where he'd come from when he saw it: the portal was right in front of him. Closed, of course. He rushed down and pulled the switch just as a thestral took a bite out of his shoulder and another one out of his wing. He then jumped through the portal and, as the beasts made to follow him, he closed the portal and collapsed on the floor, covered in bites.

The last thing he did was summon his Death Eaters before he feinted… The creatures must have been poisonous.

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Harry jumped out of bed, gasping for air. It hadn't been a long vision, but a very short one… Voldemort, jumping through a portal, covered in blood and nearly dead. He stood there for a few minutes before realizing it had been a _real_ vision.

"Wahoo!" he cried and jumped out of bed, the other boys jumping because of odd cry.

"What is it, Harry!" Ron moaned.

"I had a vision… with Voldemort"

"Then what the bloody hell are you happy for!" the redhead cried.

"He's covered in blood and he's just fainted, he looked bitten! He's… he won't do anything for awhile!" Harry grinned.

"Go to bed, mate, that's not a vision, that's wishful thinking" Neville said, his head falling on the pillow.

"But…"

"Neville's right, Harry. Go to bed" Ron said and collapsed back in bed.

"But…"

"GO TO SLEEP" three voices cried and Harry grumbled before falling back into his bed. What if… what if it was true? What if it had been only a dream?

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Severus woke up, a white-hot pain on his forearm. He clutched it tightly, shivering beneath his covers before the pain went away… It faded away quickly and he could only wonder what had gone on…

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The man lied down on the couch. What Avery had done had been… unexpected. He'd had expected him to try and stab Voldemort in the middle of a meeting or something of the sort, not elaborate such a complicated plan. Avery's madness he'd expected, though. It had been coming for quite awhile… The Death Eater had wanted some recognition of his acts, but he'd got none. Voldemort hadn't even acknowledged the importance of him killing the Hogwarts boy and his mother. No… The Dark Idiot had spent his time making Avery's life hell. And it had all come back against him.

Of course, Avery could have destroyed everything easily. His actions had contradicted one another and well… it had been odd to see him send a letter to Dumbledore about the Diagon Alley attack and then see him kill a boy in Harry's House and year to get Voldemort's approval. And then he'd killed the senior Malfoys, told Dumbledore and Hagrid about that and then went and pretended it was a secret they were dead. Had Dumbledore or Hagrid said anything about the incident… But luckily enough, Dumbledore had been wise enough not to say a word.

And now Voldemort was in great pain and very hurt. He wouldn't be planning things for a while.

The man on the couch sighed to himself. If only Harry was powerful enough to face him… But no, things wouldn't end up well if he attacked now.

The door to the room opened and the man regarded Naranesh enter.

"All will be well" she whispered.

"I know, love" he replied.

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"Hello, guys" Draco said, coming to the Gryffindor table, looking a bit overwhelmed.

"Hi!" they replied at different times, each munching on his breakfast.

"What brings you here? Not that I'd mind, of course" Ginny said with a grin.

"Dumbledore just told me my parents are dead" Draco said simply and suddenly all the clatter of dishes stopped. "Avery killed them. A few days ago"

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry" Hermione said and Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why, are you a Death Eater?" he asked. "Because only they might be sorry. I sure as hell am not. Contrary to the general beliefs I really didn't enjoy living with one active Death Eater who insisted on cursing me whenever I went wrong and a hidden Death Eater who wanted only to get new followers for her Lord. I'm quite happy they're dead, they'd have hunted me to death otherwise. And besides, I now get the family fortune"

"But those were your parents!" Neville cried.

"No, they weren't" Draco replied. "Those were the people who conceived me, but I assure you, they were no more my parents than the Grangers are. I'm a bit confused right now, that's all"

With that, he turned on his heels and walked to the Slytherin table.

"He still feels bad" Amala said and sighed a bit. "Poor chap. He'll get over it soon, though"

"Are you kidding me? He doesn't look as if he were feeling bad one bit!" Ron cried.

"No, he doesn't… But he is, trust me. I can _feel_ him"

"Whatever"

They all leaned into their plates again, Amala taking nervous peeks at the doors from minute to minute. Ginny was also taking peeks, but at Draco who had an impassible mask on his face and was elegantly eating from his plate.

"Oh, shit. Very, very shit" Amala said and Harry and Ron looked at her, confused.

"What?" Ron asked.

"_Those_ are my parents" she said, staring at the doors. Every Gryffindor looked in that direction. "Here comes my Apocalypse, it's been nice knowing you guys"

"It won't be that bad" Harry consoled her.

"They might have a huge problem with Severus" she replied, smiling nervously at the coming couple. I told them I had a boyfriend named Sev, yeah. But his age, last name as well as complete first name and profession remained unsaid" she replied as her mother approached the table.

Amala's mother was a medium-height, lean woman with black hair and a kind enough look on her face. The others wondered why Amala seemed so reluctant about her mother, she seemed to be kind… And she looked a bit like her daughter, too. Her father, though, was a tall man with harsh features.

"How's my Amala?" she asked sweetly.

"Fine, mum" the girl answered, trying to get under the table as fast as possible. "These are my friends, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville…"

The girl introduced her mother to the whole table –and of course the plump woman stared at Harry for a while- and tried to change the subject to her parents' work as well as the reason why they were there at the particular moment.

"Dumbledore said the castle could use dragon protection so we and Charlie decided to come lend a hand."

Amala didn't seem extraordinarily pleased, but she tried to act like it. Fortunately, her mother placed her daughter's squirm as embarrassment.

"Now, don't worry, I shan't stay here long, I won't bother, just came to visit. So, where is that boy called Sev you told me so much about?"

Amala saw Draco approach and wondered if she could get him to pretend to be 'Sev' for a while, but realized it wasn't a good idea. Malfoys don't wear nicknames and Draco was quite Malfoy-ish. Plus, she wasn't good at acting. And of course, Draco had already put a hand on Ginny's shoulder, watching the scene curiously.

"Actually, mum, there's something about him you should know…" she muttered.

"Oh, you said he was a Slytherin! Never mind that, dear, I'm sure he's just fine!" Amala's mum said with a grin. "After all, my sister would probably fit there"

"Yeah, but he's a tad… older than me"

"But…oh… he must've finished!" her mother said, a bit thoughtful. "So he's not here"

"Actually, he is" Amala replied, looking at the ground and then glancing at the Head Table where Severus had stopped eating –like everybody else in the Hall- and was looking at the scene curiously.

"Did he fail a year?" her mother asked and her face hardened, but she tried to smile anyway. "Well, who am I to judge…?"

"He didn't fail a year, mum" Amala said, biting her lower lip. "Heasticher!"

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Wright said.

"He is a teacher" her daughter replied. "His name… is… Severus Snape… Sev"

The whole table watched Mrs. Wright pale, but only for a second, before she got very red and she whispered.

"Severus Snape?"

"Um… yeah?"

"Severus Snape!"

"Yes…"

"Severus Snape! Why, of all the people, did you choose HIM! Ah! A DEATH EATER! How COULD you?" cried her father, his force washing over the ones close to him and making them shiver.

"Goodbye my friends, it's hard to die, when all the birds are singing in the sky" Draco sang softly but nobody listened to him.

"He isn't a Death Eater, dad!" Amala said loudly enough for everybody to hear. Now everybody was watching very, very closely. "He was a spy, but now he was discovered!"

"Too bad he wasn't killed!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" the young woman cried and her eyes glowed. "He's a very nice person!" she spat and nobody on the table begged to differ.

"A DEATH EATER, Amala!" her mother cried.

"Lucia, ce facem?" the man asked in another language and Mrs. Wright glared at her daughter.

"Vedem noi" she replied.

"What are you doing?" Amala asked unsure of herself.

"Nu mai ştii română?" Mrs. Wright spat. "Atât de tare te-a ameţit SNAPE!"

"MUM!" she cried. "Of course I know Romanian! If I don't use it it's because… because…"

"Because _he's_ made you feel oh so…" she started.

"Stop it!" she cried. "STOP IT! You know _NOTHING_!"

"If I may…" Amala heard the Headmaster and looked at him like everybody else in the Hall except her parents.

"I KNOW WHAT I MUST KNOW!" her mother cried and the Headmaster stopped speaking. "You're making the MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE!"

"I am NOT!" Amala replied, tears in her eyes. "Why won't you let me explain, mum! If you love me so much!"

"There's nothing here that needs explaining" the woman replied. "You must stop this nonsense at once!"

"But I love him, mum and…"

"LOVE! What do _you_ know about love!" she asked and the girl's tears started flowing freely. "He seduced you and now…"

"Mum, PLEASE! Just let me explain!"

"There's nothing that _needs_ explaining! You're coming back home with us!"

"NO! You can't do this! You _can't_!"

Amala was crying now and nobody dared move a finger to help her.

"Yes, I can and I _will_"

"I'm not coming back, you can't _force_ me" the girl replied, shaking.

"Luckily, even if you never listen to _me_" her mother said in a dark way. "You always listen to my fool of a sister, God knows why. Perhaps she'll snap you out of this"

"Auntie Mona? She's here, too?"

"Unfortunately" her father replied. "But you're coming with us when we leave and you're never coming back _here_"

"Please stop this"

Everybody turned towards the dark, cold voice that had just spoken to see Severus Snape standing there, impassible and cold like a rock.

"Oh, it's _you_!" Mr. Wright said darkly.

"Me indeed" Snape replied with a glare.

"Afraid you'll loose her? Don't worry, I'm sure _Dumbledore_ will allow you to molest another student"

Only a shadow past Snape's face at that comment, but he didn't reply. The Hall was very silent for a few seconds before the quiet voice they all knew from Potions spoke again.

"Do you truly think that your daughter is stupid enough to stay with a man that molests her?"

"Apparently, she is" Mrs. Wright said and glared at the sobbing girl who started crying even worse. Snape also glanced at her and suddenly his features softened and he walked to her, taking her in his arms.

"Shh… She doesn't mean it, you know that" he said in such a soft voice that Ron jumped in surprise. Amala just held him even tighter, sobbing even harder on his shoulder. "Why are you doing this?" Snape asked her parents. "Why are you hurting her like this! You're supposed to love her…"

"Don't tell me you've never hurt her this way" Mr. Wright replied, looking at him quite murderously. "Let go of her and answer! Have you ever hurt her like this!"

The Potion Master bit his lips and kissed his lover's head before letting go of her… but she wouldn't let her go. He closed his eyes and then opened them again, the same cold glint in his eyes as he looked at the Wrights.

"I have" he replied quietly.

"SEE!" Mrs. Wright cried. "You're a MONSTER!"

"Don't you dare call him a MONSTER!" Amala cried, turning towards her mother, wiping her tears away and looking at her madly. "He didn't… he didn't know… he thought…"

"You're never going to come back" her father said coldly, eyeing Snape murderously.

"You can't stop me" she whispered. "You can't. I'll always come back here, while he has me. And you can lock me up in a tower, I don't care, I'll break out"

As she shivered again, Snape put his hands around her shoulders and she leaned into the support.

"He's old enough to be your father" Mrs. Wright said.

"Thank God he isn't then!" she replied.

"He's killed people"

"So has dad"

"How dare you say that! He quit that job as an Auror for this exact reason!"

"And do you think that quitting the Aurors took it back!" Amala cried. "Do you really! Because I've got news for you, mum! You can quit Aurors, and it'll be considered alright, but do you think you can just quit being a Death Eater! Because then you sign your own death warrant! And guess what! He became a spy and risked his life!"

"But he's still capable of murder!"

"SO IS FATHER!"

Snape tightened his arms around her and whispered something in her ear, something that made her chuckle a bit.

"What's so funny!" Mr. Wright asked hatefully.

"I told her that the fact that I was a Death Eater and then a spy isn't exactly common knowledge" Snape replied with a smirk. "They thought I was, but they didn't know for sure. Anyway, it's all over now. Perhaps we could continue this in a more… private place? Our personal affairs are hardly the students' concern"

It seemed that only then did the Wrights realize that they weren't exactly alone. Draco smirked at his Head of House and he smiled at the boy in reply before putting on his cold mask again.

"Where?" Mr. Wright asked.

"My office, Christopher" he replied, removing his arms from around Amala and taking her hand instead. "Let's go"

"She's not coming" the other man said, pointing towards Amala.

"Pardon?" Severus asked the question that went through everybody's head.

"She's a very emotional person and we couldn't possibly have an _adult_ conversation with _her_ around"

"She's not three and even if she were, we could have a very calm conversation between the four of us"

"Couldn't you hear her screaming just before?"

"Trying to be heard"

"There was nothing to hear"

"How could you say that!"

"As I said, I want a calm, adult conversation. Amala shouldn't come."

"It's her we'll be discussing about! She has the right to speak!"

"Fool" Mr. Wright said and glared at his daughter. "She only speaks what you want her to"

"It is not true…"

"Snape! Let's _talk_!" Mrs. Wright said, glaring both at him and at her daughter.

"But it's my future!" Amala said, snapping out of stupor.

"Which it's better for us to decide, as we are your parents, Amala"

"What! But I'm considered an adult now! I can decide for myself!"

"Not as long as we're the ones feeding and clothing you" her mother said.

Snape looked at them with a very calculating look before smirking towards his lover.

"Perhaps they are right" he said, his eyes sparkling.

"WHAT!"

"Sorry for the betrayal love. You needn't come now, it'll be boring for you and I'll announce of what has been discussed later and show you the options you may have"

"Finally you snapped into logic, Snape" Christopher Wright said with a smirk. "Haven't I told you, daughter, that he's a good for nothing betrayer?"

"We'll talk later" Snape assured Amala and the three left the Great Hall.

Amala picked up a goblet from the table and threw it against the closing door with fury. Suddenly there was laughter behind her and she grabbed an apple from the table, ready to throw it at Draco.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" he laughed.

"What the bloody hell are you laughing at!" she cried, pissed.

"You and Snape will talk later and he'll be telling you then about his plan that will make everything work out well for you. He wouldn't betray you like that, but he acted for your parents' sake. Gods, you Gryffindors are such idiots sometimes! Now, sit down and trust him, whatever happens in the office is apparently not relevant, because he had a plan to overcome anything that goes on in there"

"How the hell do you know that?" Ron asked, his eyes as big as plates.

"Slytherin logic and the fact that I observed Snape for a long time"

Amala sat down in her chair, put her face in her palms and moaned.

"Such a huge mess"

Before anybody could reply, Dumbledore got up, calling for silence.

"As I attended to say a few minutes before, we should welcome at Hogwarts the ex-Auror Christopher Wright and Lucia Wright, both dragon caretakers at this moment. They have brought with them five dragons to guard the school from any intruders. As you probably noticed during the exchange of words, they are Amala Wright's parents. Also, I would like to say that Charlie Weasley will also be joining us for a longer period of time, since he will be the one to check on the dragons' welfare. And last, but not least, we should welcome Monica Palcu, a very good cursebreaker specialized in ancient magic. She will remain for the whole year in order to help cast a few new wards upon Hogwarts and she will also be studying the ancient tomes in our library; therefore, she isn't hired by Hogwarts, as the three dragon caretakers are, but she will be our guest. Thank you"

Dumbledore sat down and started chatting with McGonagall on his right. Amala tried to smile.

"At least Auntie Mona's here" she whispered. "She's a very nice person, perhaps she might like Severus and she might be on our side"

"I'm sure she'll be on your side" Hermione said encouragingly. "You'll see!"

"I really hope so"

Amala hid her face in her palms again, thinking about something and the others left her alone for a while. She would probably snap out of it alone, she was the positive and energetic one, wasn't she? But what if her parents' behavior had pushed her behind _that_ limit which she could stand? Hermione and Ginny watched their friend with a sympathetic look on their faces, but Amala kept her face in her palms, not saying anything… She was apparently still crying, albeit so softly that they weren't too sure about it.

The doors opened again to show Charlie Weasley and a tall, very beautiful woman with brown-blonde hair and sparkling brown eyes dressed in black robes that fitted her perfectly. Amala rose her head at the call.

"Amala!" the woman said and her sparkling happy eyes gazed all over the Hall before they landed on the one she'd called. Her face suddenly became less excited and happy and, out of a few long steps she reached her.

"What happened?" she asked concernedly.

"My mum and dad…" the Gryffindor replied slowly. "They… they didn't really approve of my boyfriend and…"

"Who's your boyfriend?" the woman asked and her eyes darted towards Draco who just shook his head and put his hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"Sev… Severus" the girl replied. "They just got ballistic, Mona, I don't…"

"Severus who?" the woman asked quickly.

"Severus Snape" she replied, looking into her aunt's eyes. "Go ahead, tell me what an idiot I am to fall in love with him! Come on, I dare you!"

"You and Severus Snape…" Mona whispered, shock on her face.

"Yeah… Mum and dad want to take me away from Hogwarts when they leave, so I can't see him again and…"

"Severus Snape, the one who's old enough to be your father" she said again, quickly.

"Yeah, I see you agree with them…" Amala went on as Mona rolled her eyes.

"Where are they? Severus and your parents?"

"In his office… Are you going to speak against him? Please, don't, he's…"

"Stop babbling!" her aunt raised her voice. "Stop babbling and come on, we want Sev alive, don't we?"

"Huh?" Amala asked, cocking her head to the side. _That_ was unexpected.

"Come! ON!" her aunt said and dragged her niece up. "You think you're the only one who cares about him and understands him!"

Amala found herself being dragged at top speed out of the Hall, for everybody's stupor…except Dumbledore's, who, as usual, knew _exactly_ what was going on and was chuckling in his beard. McGonagall got the point too and started laughing too and soon every teacher at the Head Table that had been teaching for a long time started laughing. The students simply thought it was yet another plan of Dumbledore's to confuse them to the seventh hell and back.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"So, you're Amy" Mona said, walking to the dungeons quickly, while Amala could only wonder what was going on and why her aunt was starting to laugh. And why she knew the way to the office.

"Um… Severus calls me that"

"Well, I'm one of his ex-lovers, Amala… We were together for quite awhile a long time ago"

"You're Monica!" Amala said, her face lighting up in understanding. "I never realized it was you he was talking about when he said 'Monica', he always said it with an English accent and I never thought his 'Monica' was anything but English"

"Same goes with 'Amy'" she replied. "I assumed the 'Amy' he was talking about was Amelia, not Amala…"

"This is like one of those stupid soap operas" Amala groaned. "And it's _not_ happening. My aunt and my lover…"

"Lover?" Monica smirked. "Got there, haven't you"

"Shut up" Amala said, blushing furiously while glaring at her aunt.

"I find it amusing, but not completely unexpected"

"What!"

"Well, we're a lot alike, you and I… It figures we'd like the same guy… Gah, I can't believe I didn't open my eyes! Of course, we didn't meet all that much and your letters are always very complicated…"

"My letters are complicated?"

"Hell, yes. But you could have told me _who_ he was, you know I'd never judge you!"

"I was afraid you would"

"Never, I swear"

Amala smiled to herself. This was the aunt she knew! This was Mona, the powerful mysterious Mona that made Amala's mum say she had weird ideas in her head that she would better get out soon. You see, Amala's mum, Lucia, was the older sister and she was a very traditional witch, whereas Mona… she wanted to know _everything_ and she loved the oriental traditions, dances, she loved studying ancient cultures and she definitely loved _men_, making Lucia go berserk about her instability.

But apparently, Mona's lifestyle was healthier and better since Lucia was starting to look old, while Mona, even if she was 42, seemed to be no older than 35. In fact, Amala never saw her looking any different, not for real… Even though she'd changed hairstyles and clothing styles, she was always the same.

They finally made it to Severus's office and Mona knocked and entered, after whispering to Amala: 'let me do the talking'.

The three were sitting in three armchairs in the middle of the room, Severus's opposing the other two. His face was implacable, but Amala's parents seemed to be very angry.

"Hi" Monica said simply before looking straight into Severus's now surprised eyes. "So, dating my niece, aren't you?"

"Monica!" he said. "Your _niece_!"

"Precisely" she replied and put her hand over Amala's shoulders and pouted. "My poor, little innocent niece that knows nothing of life… Why!"

Severus moaned and rolled his eyes.

"Not you too"

"Me too!" she jumped, glaring before starting to laugh. "Is my family really _that_ attractive, Sev?"

"Hmm… Only two members" he replied also smiling at her, loosing all the exasperation on his face. "You really, _really_ don't look alike"

"But we are alike. Like aunt, like niece, no?"

"Not enough so I could understand…"

"What's going on here?" Mrs. Wright asked, glaring. "How do you two know each other?"

"Well, _sis_, Severus was my lover for awhile… Remember that fine Englishman I told you about? Then again, you probably don't since you kept going on and on and _on_ about your husband here"

"You were going out with _him_?" Bellowed Mr. Wright. "I heard you saying something about a _dark_ person, but I didn't assume that you'd be stupid enough to date a Death Eater, you child!"

"Watch who you're calling a _child_, Christopher" Monica's eyes narrowed. "I'm barely ten years younger than you and seven years younger than Lucia."

"But you're acting like a spoiled brat!" he said. "Running around, getting into trouble at all times, researching dead cultures… you live in a dream!"

"And you live in a prison" she said slowly. "One that you've created yourselves, limiting your lives to what you consider normal, but you _cry_ and _moan_ after better lives. You're more childish than I am. At least I love the life I live"

"It's a fairytale one! It's not an _adult_ and _responsible_ one"

"I think you live under false beliefs, sister" Monica said, her eyes glowing a bit sadly. "I never could make you see."

"Ok, let's change the subject, what do you say? I really wouldn't like being here until midnight" Severus said with an amused smirk.

"It's early morning!" Mrs. Wright pointed out with a glare.

"Precisely. I don't fancy staying here for 16 hours because of sibling fights"

"You…"

"_I_ have classes to teach and I intend to do so. So, back to the current situation which we must take care of so both I and your daughter may go to class"

Monica smirked and winked at him so everybody in the room could see it. Suddenly, Mrs. Wright's face became very shocked, as if she'd just realized something terrible had happened.

"You… Have you slept with my daughter?"

"You have a fixation with this question, sis" Monica said calmly as Amala had started to panic. "You asked my first four boyfriends if they slept with me, you asked Amala's first boyfriend if he slept with her and now Severus… thank God you stopped asking my boyfriends if they did it or not"

"How'd she stop?" Amala asked curiously.

"I lied to her, I wanted to break up with my fourth anyway and I told her we slept together. She kicked him out of my life for free and stopped asking"

"That was a lie!"

"Yes, sis. The first one I _did_ sleep with was my… Gods, let me count… tenth? Eleventh? I didn't really jump into things as much as you thought I did. I knew what I should do and I shouldn't do and I knew I had to get rid of _you_, you know"

Both Severus and Amala were laughing now at the calm tone that Monica used in this situation –and at the situation itself-, but Amala's parents weren't too happy about it. They were actually quite grim, but luckily, they'd forgotten the question… or at least, the three other people in the room believed they did. They were wrong, though.

"So, Snape. Have you or _haven't you_ corrupted my daughter?" Christopher asked

Amala suddenly stopped laughing and the twinkle in Monica's eyes dimmed as she bit her lower lip.

"I have, Mr. Wright" Severus replied in the same tone he used with his students. Lucia's face became very pale and Christopher wasn't too happy, either. In fact, he looked ready to blow.

"You're never coming back here, Amala!" he spat, still looking at Snape. "You're coming home with us. And as long as you're living under my roof, you're never contacting him again"

"Dad!" she cried. "Please, dad, you don't know…!"

"Stop it!" he said. "What I said is final. This… affair… is stopping right now"

"I have one last thing left to say, then" Severus said and looked into Monica's compassionate eyes before turning his gaze towards Amala. "Amy, you know where I live, you know _how_ I live… You are legally an adult now, even the Ministry accepted it. Would you come live with me? I can offer you anything you need until you…"

"What!" Lucia cried, quickly followed by her husband's "How dare you!"

Amala just looked at him, stunned before closing her eyes and smiling sadly.

"Can I visit them?" she asked, pointing towards her parents.

"If you wish" he replied with a small smile. "I don't want to keep you prisoner, I want you to be free, you know that"

"I accept"

"You took much more than a year to invite me to your place" Monica said, pouting. "You took _two years_ to invite me"

"We _were _in the middle of the war, weren't we, love? And _He'd_ have killed you if he knew"

"Good point"

"You called her 'love'!" Mrs. Wright said, getting up furiously.

"I sometimes call McGonagall 'love' when she's being particularly oblivious about something and I _assure_ you I don't exactly feel anywhere near attracted to her. So, Amy, we've got class, don't we?"

"Yeah"

"Let's leave these three to their conversations and go to our own business"

"I agree. Bye mum, dad!"

And the two just stared at the two leave, while Monica smiled mischievously.

"She'll be _fine_" she assured them wickedly.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"He's not doing too well" Crabbe Sr. said, looking at the unconscious Dark Lord.

"If we have another traitor among us, Crabbe" Bellatrix said with an ugly scowl "I will make sure he dies a _slow_ and _painful_ death. But now I'll stay by the Dark Lord's side and make sure nobody can hurt him. Avery's a lucky bastard"

"Isn't Avery dead? Didn't the Dark Lord say he was eaten alive?"

"Of course, you idiot. But if I'd had a chance with him, he'd be walking with the soulless now"

"He definitely knew why he was killing himself" Macnair observed. "So, now we wait for our Lord to recover… I still cannot believe he is in this condition"

"Shut up, fool" Bellatrix snapped.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"And so, the death and fear were gone from this world that we live in and they settled in another world that only a fool would open again. Only a fool, I say, for no sane man would seek the gates that cannot be found unless sought for. But they say that one day, a fool shall open them and a Greater Evil will free the horrors within, so killing itself"

"What type of a story is this, Saren?" one of the kids asked.

"One that is said to be true, I'm afraid" the elven priestess replied, taking one of the human children on her lap and smiling softly.

"But there's still death and fear in this world!" another one of the children protested.

"There are many types of fear and death" the priestess replied. "And the worst has been locked away in the world of the Darkelings"

"But why did our ansetors fight the dark, but didn't kill it?" the kid in Saren's lap asked and she sighed softly.

"Ancestors" she said softly. "Not 'ansetors'. Because sometimes dark is hard to fight, but even harder to kill. And the other worlds cannot be reached very easily… very few have connections as good as your world has with the elven one and the connection with Earth from this place is considered extraordinary. They thought it was safe to lock them there, but then Seer Astoria prophesized that somebody would seek the entrance to that world. Nobody wanted to go exterminate those creatures, though, so they just let it be. Now, I must leave and meet with your viceroy and Sybille"

"Very well, Saren" the five children chanted and she exited the garden she'd been in.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"I can't _believe_ you used to go out with my aunt!" Amala said, trying to keep up with Severus. "And I can't believe you asked me to stay with you… did you really want me to, or did you just say that for my parents, so they'd let us…"

"I was very serious" he cut her off softly. "I love you and I would be thrilled to have you live in my house"

"Thanks" she smiled sadly and took his hand, making him raise an eyebrow and finally slow down. "You have no clue how much it means to me"

"I'm only sorry that your parents…"

"Yeah" she said, making him stop in mid-sentence since he could almost hear tears in her voice. "Yeah I can't believe they were like that"

"Shh…"

"We'll be late for class"

"Screw class" Severus said and she looked into his eyes, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. She wiped them away from her eyes, but he stopped her. "Leave them"

"I don't want to cry, I-"

"Cry, let it out"

She smiled at him softly and hugged him tightly, starting to cry, her body shivering against Severus's. And he simply held her, feeling she needed all her support.

"They never… they… they love me and they're so… I can't believe they… I feel so guilty"

"What!" he asked, taking her chin and making her look in his eyes. "Why?"

"Because I hate them, and they're my parents and oh, how I hate them, I shouldn't hate them… You know they say that even the worst murderer that cares for his mother is a good man and the most self-righteous person that doesn't love his is a rock-hearted bastard and I'm such a rock-hearted bastard, Sev, I hate my mother, I fear her, I…"

"Shh…"

"I shouldn't hate them!"

"Don't be a house-elf, Amy" Severus said with a small sigh. "They meant loving somebody who _deserves_ being called a mother, not…"

"Don't you dare say something bad about her!" Amala cried, upset.

"I'm sorry" Severus muttered, but he wasn't sorry at all. Amala was on self-destruct mode because of her parents and he wasn't going to make their apologies. "Poor thing"

He hugged her even tighter and kissed her forehead. And in that moment he heard a _click!_ and his head turned towards where he'd heard it. Seeing nothing, he simply cried:

"Thirty points from Gryffindor!"

"What!" Amala asked, raising her head.

"One of the Creevy brothers" he replied. "Those kids are so annoying."

Amala simply snorted before kissing his cheek once.

"I'll go to my class, see you"

"What do you have? Should I sign a note saying you were busy? We'll both be late"

"I doubt there's somebody who hasn't got a clue about our situation and besides, I've got History"

Severus just smiled slightly towards her before they parted ways.

"Such a sweet guy" Amala muttered to herself as tears started rolling down her cheeks again.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Two women were in the deserted Malfoy Manor, having snuck in about an hour ago. One of them was very dark, maybe goth-like, beautiful and deadly. She had a noble trait to her and she seemed to be wise and witty. The other woman was a gipsy with a very colorful dress with black as the basic color… probably. At a closer look, you could see the very colorful things were drawings of flowers. She seemed to be about thirty and she had black, long wavy hair –quite a lot of it- and twinkling brown eyes.

"Aye, 'tis been opened not long ago, Syb" the gipsy woman said, her brown eyes looking at the gate toward the Darkeling world. "And ya see, da blood on the floor? 'tis Voldemor's, I'm tellin' ya."

"You sure?" the dark woman asked, putting her hand on the dark blood. "Gipsy, you sure?"

"Ooh, yeah, Syb. Trus' me, will ya? I'd be swearin' me boy's life on it"

"Hmm. So, what do you reckon we should do?"

"If I'd be in ya shoes… I'd worry"

"I am" Sybille chuckled towards her best friend. The woman had never told Sybille her name, saying she preferred being called 'Gipsy', since her given name was a pain in the… "But other than that?"

"Well, le's see. Darkelin's, like all others in _there_ aren't really all tha' evil, ya know? Jus' starving. I reckon ye old friend, Voldemor', he's been in there and they've taken a bite outta him. Trust a Seers word, ya crazy woman, stop lookin' at me 's if I were out of me rocker"

"How do you know he's been bitten?"

"'cause I don' think he's slashed through his fresh on his own, Syb, do you? An' after all, if ye're starvin' and there's live food in fron o' yea, ya don' _scratch_, ya bite an eat all ya can"

Sybille sat down on the floor, her hands around her knees, letting her head rest on her knees. She hated the situation. As Saren had pointed out, the reopening of the Darkeling world was not something to be taken easily. After all, it had been in the prediction about the return of the 'death and fear', the return of 'darkness'.

"Can we use those creatures?" she asked.

"No. No man can. Ya'd have to be crazy ter try. That's why Voldemor' will try"

"So we have to beware the Darkelings"

"Oh yeah. But don't ya worry, Syb! They'll have jus' as much trouble with 'em as ya'd have if ya didn' know they'd be there. But _ya know_. So, they'll be havin' more of a trouble with 'em than ya will. 'Tis the firs' time I say it, but I pity the poor bastar'."

"I hope you won't get to pity _us_"

"Hope so, too" Gipsy murmured. "Well, come on, ya crazy fool. Ya don' wan' us to be found by Corpse Munchers, do ya?"

"Deathe Eaters"

"Same thin'" she shrugged and Sybille laughed as they started walking towards the exit. But as she was about to get out, she turned and smirked.

"I have an idea"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Night had fallen some time ago and the bodiless soul floated around, wondering what it should do. Bellatrix was watching after his body, so it was safe. And apparently, he could travel with or without it… and he could posses creatures yet again.

Voldemort smiled to himself, moving around like a cloud towards Hogwarts. He was so much more powerful than the last time he'd done this. He would do it. He would take the boy and kill him and how _easy_ it would be. So easy…

The castle started to grow in front of his eyes, more and more and more. He hovered over the grounds and towards Gryffindor Tower, ready to enter through a wall straight into the boys' bedrooms. He would've smiled evilly to himself, if he'd had a body. But he didn't, so he smiled to himself.

So much power… He could live both into his own body and in this way! He loved it. He loved every moment of it. He couldn't be killed, he knew it now and he could posses people, he could haunt them, infiltrate in places he couldn't have entered before, listen in on Dumbledore's meeting without the man realizing he was there. He was so much more powerful now and he could live both with and without a body! Oh, last time, he'd lived only without it, which had been bad since nobody likes obeying to a spirit.

He chuckled to himself as he charged towards the wall…

Only to be rejected in a very firm way, pain going through his body even as he floated backwards. Pain as bad as the Cruciatus. Stupid wards of the castle! Last time, they'd let him in, probably because he'd been weaker and attached to somebody who Dumbledore had let in. Foolish Quirrell…

But what would he do now?

He shot down towards the lake, ready to go back to his body, where Bellatrix awaited, only to see that there was somebody on the grounds, against a tree. It was a girl… one that he remembered. Hadn't she been with Potter some time ago?

And look, she was _crying_. How _touching_. Crying people were always the easiest to fool into anything, since all they noticed was their inner world, their own stupid pain.

Without a second thought, he shot towards the girl, trying to take over her body and her senses, to control her mind and make her spin around in circles, lost forever in her pain.

With a long howl, she lost the fight with him and soon her eyes looked down into the water.

Voldemort smirked to himself, the evil smirk being very out of place on the girl's angelic face.

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AN: Mwahahaah! Cliffs! Did I ever mention to you that I love writing? I'm just writing my original fic called 'The Dargon's Eye" and I think it'll come out well:Excited gasp: Oh, I have no clue where Gipsy came from and I feel kinda guilty for introducing so many new characters, but then again, I don't think she'll be back in the story, so she doesn't count, huh?

And as for Monica and Amala… Go on, flame me! I dare you to say it's a soap opera! And then :wink: then I'll show you _why_ they had to be from the same family.

Oh, P.S. IF ANYBODY IS INTERESTED IN BEING MY BETA, please, please, please tell me. I have a feeling that I make mistakes and don't realize it.

Replies to my wonderful, wonderful reviewers (and again, implicit thank yous, because if I don't write that here, I'll forget to thank people, and I wouldn't want to do that, no? ;-) ):

Alcapacien: his is not fair, I started liking Avery too! But alas, a plot is a plot and therefore it must be respected… (wait a sec, who ever said that? Oh, well…) And unfortunately, same goes with Voldemort. He must live. Damn. :sadistic grin: But then again, who's the evil author here, hmm? And why exactly should I keep Voldie happy? ;-)

Soramiko: Thanks for the enthusiastic review! Damn, Amala's parents aren't very nice, now are they? And I really hadn't planned that part about Severus asking her to live with him. I daresay we both got the idea in the exact same time. Oh, well, who am I to question the all-crazy muse of fanfiction? As I reread my response to you, I suddenly realize that it hasn't got much to do about what you've written in the review. Oh, well…

Inu-kokoro: Come on, Sev's a really sweet guy! See how he invited Amala to live with him when she had her fight with her parents? I wish somebody did that for me :pouts: Oh, thanks for the cookie:eats cookie and hands you some chocolate: Thanks for the review:-D

Tsuetsu: Thanks! You just made me feel that I have a chance with my original novel(and I definitely mean it)! That is, if I manage to get off my lazy but and write it ;-)

GamingGuy84: I like you and your style of reviews. You even made me announce the fluff scenes between Severus and Amala between DDDs instead of IIIIs! –not that I had any here, but for it will be done in future chapters- Oh, and Jack Strois and the Revelation (capital R not being a mistake), that's something I'm keeping for Halloween (their Halloween, not our Halloween ;-) ) But it's been planned since waaaay back, that's why I've mentioned it. Oh and since there was no Harry/Luna here, there'll probably be next chapter.

Okay everybody, I bid you all good night (or good day) and I'm going to bed, I'm sooo tired it hurts. Don't forget to review and I'll love you forever!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

**AN:** Due to current situation, I will no longer name chapters. What current situation, you ask? The situation of not coming up with good titles, duh!

Note: fluff including Severus and Amala will be put between DDDDDDDDs instead of IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIs.

Un-beta-ed version (is this how you write it?)

Chapter 13

Voldemort walked towards the castle feeling very, very evil. He made it to the front doors and half-expected to be rejected, but instead he was let in. Oh, this was going to be _wonderful_.

For the first time in many years he walked through the corridors in a body that was controlled completely by him. He should go somewhere where he couldn't be found… Would the Chamber of Secrets do? No, probably not. It was a shame that Potter had killed the basilisk…

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Harry stood in an armchair by the fire, while Hermione and Ron were sprawled on the couch.

"Where's Amala?" Harry asked.

"Outside, taking a walk. She's quite distressed" Hermione answered. "I still can't believe her parents did that!"

"Me neither" Harry replied truthfully. "But still, Snape's offer was nice"

"Yeah, wasn't it?" she commented. "Oh, Harry, do you think we should show him our room? I've been wondering about it. There are some tomes there that he might want to study"

"But do you think the password would work for him?" Ron snorted. "I mean, he's not much of a _'light warrior'_."

"I don't think it _matters_, Ron" Hermione replied with a roll of her eyes, before she screamed, looking up. "Professor!"

The other two looked up, seeing Binns floating around.

"Yes, Mrs. Stranger?"

"What- what are you doing here?" she chocked out.

"Verifying if everything is alright" he replied in his dull tone. "Is that not what Mrs. McGonagall did every night?"

"No!" Hermione said. "But… oh, well…"

"Goodnight, Mrs. Stranger"

"Goodnight" she replied, seeing him float out. "Sheesh, isn't he creepy as a Head of House?"

"Yes, he is" the other two replied in the same time, still looking after the ghost.

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"Amala? Please, wait!" Mrs. Wright cried after her daughter.

The girl turned on her heels, looking coldly at her mother.

"What?" she asked with a voice that didn't sound too much like it should.

"I'm sorry… about earlier" her mother said, looking very sorry indeed. "It's just that your father, he was an _Auror_, Amala. And he was the one who captured Snape in the first place, of course he knows many dirty things about him that you don't…"

The girl's eyes widened and flashed for a second.

"He caught Severus?" she whispered.

"Yes" Mrs. Wright replied. "So you see why we overreacted. We don't want you hurt, child. You mean the world to us… And as much as I may hate to admit it, Mona is a good judge of character and she told us many things"

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that Snape wouldn't be a good choice for me, but he's a good choice for you. She said he was a good man underneath everything and that he's a bit different towards his… his _lovers_ than towards the world. She said she isn't very pleased by your choice of a man, especially because of the age difference, but she said that she's alright and she respects it, but needs to have a word with Snape first."

"Really?" the girl asked in a very cold manner. "That's good to know"

With that, Amala turned on her heels and started walking away, but her mother grabbed her shoulder, making her turn back and glare murderously.

"Please… I don't want to lose my daughter"

"I think that you will" she replied with a very sadistic smile on her face and took out her wand.

"What are you-?" Mrs. Wright started, but was cut off by a spell that made her lose consciousness.

"It wouldn't do to kill you, people might get quite suspicious" the girl hissed and smirked evilly, walking away. "You _will_ lose your daughter"

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"Sirius?"

"What?" he moaned, turning towards Iris.

"Something's wrong"

"What, love?"

"With Amala"

Sirius turned towards her, embracing her. He'd decided to come to the castle for the night and pretend he wasn't there (especially since it was after curfew anyway and he'd come via Floo powder)… he'd meet his godson and his friends in the morning, but as for now, he wasn't there. He was with Iris, who could, unfortunately, empathize with Amala so much that she knew what the girl was going through. Trust Sirius to get a girlfriend with too much concern for her apprentice.

"You _know_ what she's been through" he sighed. "You told me you felt her feeling horrible all day, it's because of the whole ordeal with her parents and Snape and…"

"No, no…" Iris said. "I was scared she might do something stupid, but I could feel her, all the pain and the feeling of loss and anger and guilt, but now…"

"Now?" Sirius asked as she'd stopped.

"She's scared, Siri. Something scared her a _lot_ and I don't know what. She's _terrified_"

"Let's go find her, it might be Snape" Sirius replied, getting up.

"I think it's more serious than Snape" she answered, also getting up and putting some robes on her, exactly as Sirius was doing. "I hate this, it's very bad"

"It's ok, we'll take care of things" he replied.

The two of them hurried out of the Professor's room and Sirius was amazed to see that Iris was walking at a sure pace, as if she knew where she was going. And apparently, she _did_ know where she was going.

"Call Albus" she whispered. "I'm afraid we've got a lot more trouble than we've bargained for."

Sirius gulped slowly and took out a small two-way mirror, calling the Headmaster through it.

"Not good" she whispered, her wand out, taking one last turn and pointing her wand out…

Sirius simply gaped. Amala was there, yes, apparently coming from a different direction. But she didn't seem terrified, but angry and full of hatred. Iris nearly dropped her wand.

"Hey, sweetie" she said slowly. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"No" she replied in a very rasp tone that wasn't like her usual one. "What do you want?"

"I could feel you through our link all day" Iris replied gently, putting her wand back in place.

"Really?" Amala asked with curiosity.

"Yes… and now I felt you terrified"

"I'm not terrified" she replied. "I'm angry"

"Funny… the link never seemed to malfunction before" Iris replied. "Do you know what happened?"

"No…" the girl replied, leaning back against the wall, frowning. "Maybe I was Obliviated? I don't know… I think there was a fight… Should I test my wand with Prior Incantatem?"

"Yes, you should" Iris said gently.

"Okay" Amala replied, taking out her wand. Iris frowned. She felt something like… panic and screaming through the link. What was wrong? Her apprentice took out her wand, casually waved it… and instead of saying 'prior Incatatem' she cried out a 'Crucio!' towards Iris.

Sirius jumped, seeing this, shocked beyond belief as Iris collapsed in screams of pain.

"What the HELL!" he cried, jumping at Amala and pinning the girl to the floor. "What are you doing!"

"Get off, you mutt!" the girl replied in a voice that wasn't hers.

"She's possessed" Iris chocked out. "Stun her"

Sirius reached for his wand, but Amala was quicker and she hit him in the head badly before shooting a stunner and pushing the unconscious Animagus off her.

"You're ruining everything" she said with a very _wrong_ smirk. "What a pity. I should kill you now"

"Voldemort" Iris said, slowly.

"Bingo" the younger girl said, pointing her wand at Iris. However, Iris wasn't a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor for nothing, so she jumped out of the way of a killing curse and shot a stunner of her own.

"Protego!" Iris cried against a stunner and Voldemort laughed.

"Give up, pretty or the mutt dies"

"Don't you dare!" Iris cried, sending a stunner that was easily deflected.

"Why not?" he laughed evilly, sending another killing curse. "After all-"

Iris had sent a spell on him and Voldemort found himself frustratingly silent, as his vocal cords weren't working anymore. He didn't stay there to ponder what to do next, though, as he jumped against Iris, hitting her in the face and making her fall down. And then he too dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Iris looked up to see Dumbledore, his wand out, with a perplexed look on his face, before he stunned her, too.

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"-wonder what was going on" he heard Dumbledore's voice.

Sirius started opening his eyes slowly, having a painful headache. Gah, this was… wait! What had happened with Amala! He shot up so suddenly that he heard somebody crash something next to him in surprise.

"Whoa, there, cousin!" he heard and looked at Tonks who had just knocked a few glasses on the floor. He saw that, yet again, he was in the hospital wing and that Dumbledore, Snape, Amala's parents, her aunt, Harry, Ron and Hermione were there too. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I was with Iris… she said something was wrong with Amala and we went to find her. When we did, she _felt_ wrong, you know? Iris had said she was terrified, panicked, but she wasn't. And she said there might've been a fight and that she might've been obliviated and offered to check her wand for the previous spell… But instead of doing that, she cast the cruciatus on Iris. I jumped on her and Iris said she was possessed… and then I was stunned"

"Possessed?" Dumbledore asked slowly. "Because of the stunner, she can't be possessed now. _Ennervate_"

To Sirius's surprise, Dumbledore had awaken Iris and not Amala. Iris gave them a detailed report of what had happened before Dumbledore awakened Amala, too.

The girl looked at them and started crying. Her parents walked towards her, to comfort her, but Snape was quicker and he got on her bed and held her in a very gentle way. She turned so she was leaning against him, his arms around her as she cried. To Sirius's surprise, Snape was soothing her as much as he could. Nobody in the room protested to anything. The girl started shivering and he held her even tighter, whispering something in her ear, out of which Sirius could only catch a few words… "Alright"… "All over"… "We're with you"… "Shh". Snape looked straight into Sirius's eyes and motioned him to come over, so he got out of his bed and awkwardly brushed a tear away from her eye. Amala looked up at him, pain clearly on her face.

"I'm s-so sorry" she whispered.

"What for? That wasn't you, it was Voldemort"

"I'm s-so s-s-sorry" she said towards Iris and the older woman smiled gently.

"It wasn't your fault… You even tried to warn me. I'm sorry I haven't been more careful with what happens to you, I should be with you, protect you, not…"

"Don't" Amala groaned. "It wasn't your fault"

"We need to create new wards" Snape said simply and Sirius glared at him. Was he _that_ insensitive? Talking about wards when the girl, his _lover, _or God's sake, was in a lot of distress! "So this doesn't happen again. I'll help you with mental wards, if you're more powerful, nothing of this sort will happen again"

"Thanks" she said, smiling slightly. "I'm so weak, I…"

"Don't even _go there_…" Snape said in such a dark tone that Sirius recognized it as a threat. A Death Eater's threat. Amala simply smiled softly.

"If you say so"

"What happened?" Sirius asked. "How did you fall in the claws of that bastard?"

Amala looked into his eyes, still looking very shaken, but now she wasn't crying anymore, at least.

"I was outside… Leaning against a tree, crying that my parents couldn't accept me…"

"That's not true" her mother protested, but Snape shut her up with a glare.

"And that I'd have to leave home, even if it was to stay with Severus… When V-Voldemort jumped on me, got in me and started controlling my body. I was so scared, he was so powerful. He pushed me aside, and I could still see everything and I could feel his intentions and I couldn't do anything to stop him. It was horrible. He stunned my mum, he cast the cruciatus on Iris, he wanted to kill Sirius… and Iris… and then… I don't know. I just blacked out"

"Dumbledore stunned you, dear" Madam Pomfrey said, handing her some chocolate. "It will do you good"

"Thanks" she replied slowly, taking a small bite out of it.

"Severus is right" Dumbledore said slowly. "We need to cast new wards"

"I don't think he can get in by himself" Monica said and all eyes turned towards her. "I think he needs to possess somebody in order to get inside. I'll see what I can do"

Sirius noticed that Snape smiled at her in a very affectionate way and he growled on the inside. If he would hurt Amala, Sirius would have his head for it. But for now, the girl was oblivious as she closed her eyes and leaned against Snape's shoulder.

"Let's go to sleep" she murmured. "I'm so tired"

"Yes" Snape replied, attempting to get out of bed.

"No stay… please?"

With a sigh, Snape remained there and looked pointedly at Dumbledore who cleared his voice.

"Perhaps we should _all_ go to bed?" he suggested and everybody was quite happy to be given an excuse so they could leave Amala sleep. As they exited the room, Sirius being the last, he observed Snape shift the two of them so that they were lying down, him holding her in his arms. He sighed to himself and closed the door behind him.

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Sybille was quite happy with her traps. The gipsy woman had left for quite some time, leaving Sybille alone to think, ponder and set up her traps. After all, who could do it better than the dark woman?

So, now, the Manor still looked deserted, but the walls were no longer what they used to be. Instead, they'd been hollowed on the inside, then Engorgement charms had been put and finally everything had ended up like a maze with corridors and rooms inside the Manor's walls. Sybille was quite pleased. She'd then created an underground tunnel that lead away from the Manor, to get in and out of the place…

The Death Eaters would never know what struck them.

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Jane Chase held her head in her hands. She hated this. She really, deeply hated this. She was so afraid of the war, so afraid she'd have to lead her people… she was so young, so inexperienced. Luckily, Lord Kenden was with her. Well, he wasn't with her _now_, as she was in her History of Magic class, but he was with her morally.

She let her head down on her books slowly. She was so tired, she couldn't keep up with both classes and her training.

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"Listen, Amala" her mother said, sighing slowly. "I'm sorry about the way we reacted"

The girl looked down towards the doors of the Great Hall, wishing she was in there with her friends, rather than here, with her mother, who'd stopped her before she'd entered the Hall.

"Are you… are you sure everything is alright with Snape?"

"I'm sure everything is alright with _Severus_, mother" she replied darkly. "I trust him completely, and I don't give my trust away easily. Not completely."

"But he is a lot older than you are, are you sure he's not manipulating you, using you?"

"I'm sure" she replied with a sigh. "Let's not go back there again, please, mum?"

"And… please come home with me and Christopher. You may come back to Hogwarts and…"

Amala took a deep sigh. She'd seen this coming, but she already knew her answer, as she'd talked about it with Severus this morning and he'd assured her he'd meant every word…

"No thanks, mum" she replied slowly. "I'm staying with Severus. I'll come visit, though, I promise. I'll probably be spending more time with you than him, but… I'd like my home to be with him. Is it… is it ok?"

Her mother gulped slowly, tears forming in her eyes.

"It's ok… Servus" she chocked out, turning her back at her daughter and leaving in sobs.

"Servus" Amala replied at her mother's salute, feeling tears build up in her own eyes.

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Meanwhile, Voldemort had just woken up in his very hurt body. Last night had been quite… interesting. So, he could possess people! And he could enter Hogwarts by possessing them… what if they put up wards against that? Oh, well, he'd just have to act quickly, then.

"Bellatrix" he murmured.

"Yes, my lord?" she asked lovingly, ready to serve.

"I think I found a way to enter Hogwarts. It appears I can still possess people, and I can enter the castle by possessing somebody. I need you to start a siege on the castle at the same time I enter it, so I can kill the Muggle loving fool and Potter"

"Yes, sire" she replied with a smirk. "When should this be?"

"At the next Quiddich match, so I can find myself a good body and so you can scare everybody away. Use the creatures in the new world"

"Yes, sire" she said with a very dark smile, as Peter Pettigrew entered the room.

"My l-lord… there is somebody h-here who wishes to see you" he stuttered.

"Call him in" he said , getting up in spite of his weakness. Peter opened the door and motioned somebody to enter the room, before closing it and stepping away, making Voldemort raise an eyebrow. That was, until he saw the person coming straight through the door.

"I'm coming to fulfill my promise, so I can have eternal rest" he said. "I have sworn to you to become Head of Gryffindor House and to give you information from there. Here I come, to keep my word. Good day, my favorite student, Heir of Slytherin"

"Good day, Professor Binns" Voldemort replied with a very evil smirk.

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AN: Last time I wanted to translate everything from Romanian to English, but I forgot –sheepish grin-

So, here I go!

"Lucia, ce facem?" (the man asked in another language and Mrs. Wright glared at her daughter.) Lucia, what are we going to do?

"Vedem noi" (she replied.) We'll see

("What are you doing?" Amala asked unsure of herself.)

"Nu mai ştii română?" (Mrs. Wright spat.) "Atât de tare te-a ameţit SNAPE!" Don't you know Romanian anymore! Is that how much Snape dazed you!

So, coming up next…

Replies to my wonderful reviewers! (Implicit thank you to everybody who reviewed, it means sooooooooo much to me!)

Soramiko (now known as Fuyu Taki): wow! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews (and for putting me on your 'favorites' list ;-D)!

And as for being beta… I see inu-kokoro has offered, but there's always room for another beta. And I didn't mean only the spelling/grammar mistakes when I said I think I make mistakes and not even notice it. After all, I _do_ tend to forget what I did with some secondary chapters and put them in places where they shouldn't be. Like Seamus. And as you noticed, I forgot to translate the Romanian things…

Oh, well, I have no clue what else to write since I'm really not inspired here, so I'll just salute you :grin:

Inu-kokoro: Thanks for being my beta:::grin: And yes, Severus still likes Monica… and he loves Amala and… well, this will turn out interesting ;-)

Tsuetsu: Yes, I got the feeling there were too many things going on at once, too. I was actually thinking about abandoning a certain Halloween scene that I had in mind, but I'm going to keep it, since it'll make everything come together… I hope?

GamingGuy84: Yes, well, Voldemort was in a lot of trouble because of the Darkelings. And he'll be in a lot of trouble still, since some of his followers might become the… 'daily digest' of the creatures, if they're not careful.

And… hmm… yes, poor child who was possessed. Very poor child. Especially since she's Amala and she has quite a few problems without Voldemort in her head… It's a surprise he didn't recognize her. Oh, well… And as for her parents, well, her father knows a bit too much about Death Eaters and some of the things Severus did to keep his cover to be a bit more gentle.

But as for the pairing… there's hard times to come, since Severus still likes Monica, even though he loves Amala. Who will it be? How will it be? Stay tuned! ;-)

Dark672: Are you kidding? How could I give up a secret as big as that::smiles and whispers: Permanent Luna/Harry, but shh!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

Note: fluff including Severus and Amala will be put between DDDDDDDDs instead of IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIs.

**FANFICTION COMPETITON!**

**Opened and running!**

Check out the Phoenix Feather Competition at:

http/groups. 14

Amala opened her eyes, taking in the bright light of the morning. Severus wasn't next to her, that much was obvious. He was probably working in his lab or God-knew-what. She felt much better now… she should be going back to the Common Room.

She climbed out of bed and saw she was still in her robes. Well, she'd been comfortable enough, so she wasn't complaining now, after all, she didn't have to change her clothes.

After a long enough walk she entered the Common Room and saw it was quite empty, except for her friends.

"Hey" they greeted her and Hermione and Harry got up from the couches where they'd sat down and came closer to her to hug her. "You ok?"

"Now, yes" she replied, hugging them tightly in return.

"Sit down" Ron called her and so she did, taking her seat next to a concerned Ginny.

"Is there anything we can get you?" Neville asked.

"No, thanks" Amala replied with a small smile. "I'm ok"

"Don't worry, it'll pass" Ginny encouraged her. "I should know. In my first year I was possessed by his memory, too. Harry saved me, though"

Amala smiled towards the redhead.

"So, we're partners in this" she attempted a joke. "Oh, well. It's a good thing they stopped me… I hurt my own mum"

"No… _he_ hurt your mum" Ginny corrected her. "Don't mistake the two."

Harry stood up.

"Well, I should get going. I'm meeting Luna… Sorry, but I have to go, I asked her to meet me this morning, I had no clue what…"

"Don't worry" Amala replied, smiling at him. "I completely understand. Go, have fun, don't worry"

Harry waved his goodbye and left, looking a bit pensive. Amala looked at her friends and relaxed. Voldemort was gone now. It was alright. It was ok. All was good. But she wanted to… she wanted to talk to somebody. God knew where Severus would be, but she could find Sirius in a moment in Iris's rooms.

"I want to go talk to Sirius and Iris, tell them I'm sorry and ask them what to do. Perhaps talk to Mona, she'll know what I should do"

"Ok…" Ron replied. "Want any of us to come with you?"

"I'm ok, Ron" she replied, smiling towards him. "Really. A bit shaken, but not completely messed up."

"Ok"

Amala got up and said her goodbyes before she yet again started walking down the corridors, thinking about Voldemort. The thought of him in her body still made her hair stand up on ends and she felt a shiver going up her spine. That monster needed to be stopped.

"Hey, Amala. You ok?" she heard a voice and looked around her to see Jane Chase coming towards her.

"Now, yes" she replied and frowned. "Where have _you_ been"

"Training" she sighed tiredly. "It's getting the best of me, that one. I can't do it anymore! It's too much! _Too much_! Why can't they give me a day's break, I need it a lot and I can't possibly work much more like this. Hell, I think I'll collapse one day during training!"

Amala looked at her with a bit of surprise as Jane ranted on about swords and daggers and politics and military techniques.

'Poor girl' she thought.

"Oh, sorry I'm telling you this" the small second year said sheepishly. "I've been under stress lately, but it still wasn't as bad as your problem last night"

"No, it's ok" Amala replied and Jane sighed again.

"I should go now, then I should get breakfast and then homework for tomorrow and then training again… See you!… I hope"

"See ya" Amala replied and watched the girl nearly run down the corridor.

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"Morning, Luna" Harry said and took the girl's hand.

"Hi, Harry!" she replied, her eyes brightening considerably. "How are you?"

"I'm fine… Listen, do you know what happened last night?"

"Well, it _was_ the acromantulas' singing night, when all the acromantulas gather together and start singing songs of praise to the moon, but I somehow get the feeling that you're not referring to that"

"Well, no, I'm not" Harry admitted. "I was talking about Amala… she got possessed by Voldemort"

"What!" Luna asked.

"Yeah, she was outside, crying when he attacked her and took over her body. Then he came in and attacked her mum, Iris and Sirius. Sirius came here last night"

"Oh my God" Luna said. "Poor girl…"

"Yeah… she claims to be better now, but I'm not sure"

"Well, of course she's shaken!" Luna said. "Think about it! She got _possessed_!"

The blonde girl looked at Harry in a very "duh!" mode and he immediately felt embarrassed. But Luna didn't seem to think any less of him for not understanding that. Instead she just sighed and kissed him on the lips.

"I really like you" she stated after breaking the kiss.

"I really like you too" Harry replied and she beamed, suddenly grabbing his hand and starting to run. "Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

She giggled at his cry of surprise as she passed straight through Nearly Headless Nick who moved quickly out of the way, sparing Harry the cold feeling of passing through ghosts.

"Watch out!" he cried good-naturedly behind them as Harry cried an apology. Luna didn't seem to notice as she dragged him up some stairs, down some stairs, left, right, left, stairs, right, down, up, left… Well, you get the point. And finally, after she apparently decided it was enough torture or the raven-haired Gryffindor, she stopped abruptly in front of the door, causing him to collapse into her at full speed, sending both of them tumbling down on the floor and into fits of laughter.

"Sorry" she said. "Let me show you something that could help Amala"

They picked themselves up from the floor and entered something that seemed to be an abandoned storeroom. Luna went to a wardrobe and opened its door, taking out a small box. Harry neared her curiously wondering what she had there (AN: I'm wondering too! I'll go pick up a dictionary…).

"Look, these are rock standaloofs" she explained. "They're crystals that protect their bearers from stuff like possessions or legilimency. Anything that has to do with the mind, you see?"

"Yeah, I guess" he replied as she opened the box and showed him a few rocks that looked nice.

"Here, give her this one!" Luna suggested, showing him a shiny, metallic-looking one. "It's a nice standaloof, it should keep her safe"

Harry took it in his hand, surprised to feel it warm and heavy.

"Thanks"

"No problem" she replied and then grinned. "You have one too"

Harry looked around and picked up a violet one.

"It's an amethyst" Luna explained. "Nice choice. I have a pink quartz, it has to do with love"

"Where are these from?" Harry questioned.

"I found them here in my second year" she replied. "Nobody ever came here to take any of them, so I took one for myself. I don't think anybody would mind and we can always return them."

Harry simply beamed at her.

"This would be considered stealing" he pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess. But we can return them!"

And she put the box down and kissed him. Harry really _did_ like her rather simple style of handling things.

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"How is she?" Sirius asked as Iris came through the door towards her living room. His girlfriend and Amala had entered the bedroom half an hour ago and now only the older woman had come out.

"Better" Iris nodded. "I helped her calm down and now she's reading, trying to get her mind off things. I've spoken to Monica last night"

"Oh?" Sirius asked.

"She said that Amala is not a very powerful person and that that should change. She said we need to work together, the three of us. I'm really wondering what she has in mind… She makes me feel a bit like an ignorant, really"

"What!" Sirius exclaimed, wondering what Monica had said to Iris.

"Oh, no, not intentionally" the Defense Professor said, calming him with a laugh. "But she's much more powerful than me and she knows many things that I don't. I can feel her… independent and powerful, like a tiger. I feel like a dove being approached by a huge peaceful tiger for a chat, you know? She treats me as her equal, but I feel inferior."

"Don't…" Sirius said, petting her head gently. "I bet that it's the same to her, too. You're a wonderful, beautiful, exceptional woman. So what if she knows a few more things? You're still as extraordinary as ever"

"Thanks" she said with a grin. "I wonder what we'll do with Amala"

"Me too" Sirius said sincerely. "I feel her like a combination between sister and daughter you know"

"I know"

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"So, what you're saying is that there's a secret room in Hogwarts and the password to it is 'light warrior'" Voldemort said, pacing around, Binns next to him.

"Precisely, Heir of Slytherin" he explained. "I can show you where when you come to the castle."

"There are wards around Hogwarts that I cannot break" Voldemort replied. "I could barely enter by possessing a girl, I don't know how I will manage it again"

"The wards _will_ be broken" Binns assured him. "And I will tell you all that goes on inside until the day this war ends or until the Owner of Hogwarts comes to the castle himself"

"Owner of Hogwarts!" Voldemort asked, stopping mid-pace. "Who or _what_ is that?"

"It's a myth, nothing of importance" Binns shrugged it off. "It's like saying 'when Jesus comes back to Earth'."

"Oh" Voldemort replied, pacing again. "Find out more about the room"

"My pleasure"

"… And tell me what the idiots are planning"

"Of course"

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Sybille was galloping through the darkness towards the castle. She had to check on the Queen and announce her of all the traps they were doing, but at first, she had to talk to Sania. After all, maybe it was a tad too difficult for a twelve year-old to cope with everything. Well, not maybe, but certainly. Sybille pitied the girl.

"Nyah!" she cried, hurrying her horse. "Nyah!"

That wasn't exactly a word, she knew, but the horse knew it and it hurried up. Its mistress was definitely not somebody to mess with. Especially when she felt fire through her veins and the need to hurry. And oh, how she felt it now! The feeling of wind through her hair made her want to hurry even more and made her let go of the concealing charm she had upon her.

Her eyes turned light blue and her hair turned even darker from the black she had. The smile she had turned dangerous and her teeth became whiter and sharper. Her skin became purple and, most surprising of all, her ears became longer and pointed.

The horse could feel the change in his mistress and let out a neigh of excitement before feeling a surge of power from her and hurrying even more. They would make it at Hogwarts in few minutes, just before the dawn and from there… from there Sybille would take them to her old home.

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Dawn came upon the grounds of Hogwarts, lighting the grounds pleasantly. Severus had left his bed some time ago. He'd cheered Amala yesterday afternoon after he'd managed to find her with Sirius and Iris. But now he needed to find Monica and talk to her about the problem in the castle wards. And he knew exactly where to find her.

He entered the library and watched as the sole person there, Monica herself, flipped through the pages of a book.

"What did you find?" he asked and she lifted her eyes.

"Good morning to you too" she said and he rolled his eyes. "So. I tested the wards last night and checked a few books. Apparently, everybody who is brought in by somebody who is a light person is allowed to enter."

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that quite unsafe? What if Longbottom was captured by Death Eaters? They could easily enter the school"

"Ah, but they couldn't" Monica replied. "You see, then _they'd_ be bringing _him_, and the condition is put backwards. So if they tricked him into taking them in, then they'd be allowed to enter. That's why students are _not_ allowed to help foreigners enter the castle. Oh, and students are allowed in, too. That's why Marked kids can enter."

"Oh?" Severus raised an eyebrow. "So no foreigners can enter the castle? It's silly, Aurors and their sort can easily…"

"Well, the castle can feel people, it lets in only good people"

"Then why doesn't it do that to everybody!"

"Because" Monica said "the castle was also built as a defensive structure and a place to seal yourself in and lead a war. It used to also be used as a temporary dungeon and light people had to be able to get the prisoners inside… but since the prisoners weren't light, they couldn't bring anybody in. Get it?"

"I do" Severus replied.

"Well, that's the first explanation" Monica continued. "The second is that since the castle has a very magical core, it's somehow alive and it can understand things and that it lets people in based on what it believes should be done"

"I think the first explanation is more plausible" Severus pointed out. "Not many things get soul, even with magic and even if say, the castle _was_ alive, it would not have let Voldemort inside"

"Ah, but maybe there's a reason why it did it" she replied, getting up.

"Which is?"

"To save Amala. And show us that she needs to be protected. After all, Voldemort might have killed her because of his failure to get in or might have searched for her again…to possess her"

"He could possess any student here"

"No, he couldn't" Monica replied quietly. "Amala is a gifted person… she has the gift of Sight."

Severus snorted slightly, but Monica quieted him.

"So do I" she added. "The real thing. I can See past things and get intuitions about things that are and will be… But there is a great difference between us. Amala is much weaker in mind than I am. She is Yin. That means receptive, lunar."

"I remember that" Severus nodded.

"Yes… that makes her a Medium, she can't control things. I can. I am Yang. That's active, solar. I can control the Sight, search for whatever I need, she cannot. She is receptive by nature, Severus. She can get possessed. Iris has done a good job teaching her things, out of what she told me last night when she came to talk to me. But it's not enough. She needs to become powerful, Sev… We need to help her do it"

Monica made a few steps towards him and bit her lower lip nervously.

"We really need to. And we need to place wards…"

Severus wondered what she was thinking of as her voice got quiet and she stopped talking, simply looking at him. She was sad… Why? He didn't think it had anything to do with Amala. And he didn't like seeing her sad, he should find the reason…

"I'm sorry" she said suddenly as she realized he was feeling uncomfortable.

"What for?"

Monica bit her lower lip again and looked down before looking up at him again.

"Well, because I'm going to say this at such a bad time. Severus, I've tried to understand so many times… if I still have feelings for you or not. Many times I thought I was over you, that I still cared for you, but just as a friend. I was wrong, I still love you."

He looked at her, surprised. Did she…? Really? After so many years? After such long years apart?

"I thought that maybe when I came we'd be together for a short while again, but I see how much you love her and she's my niece, I don't want to fight for you and it would be useless, anyway. I understand, I do… I'd hoped, though… But please, Severus"

She made a few steps towards him and circled her arms around him, looking at him in a shy way, something that didn't really suit her.

"One last kiss… Please… To keep it in my memory"

He looked in her brown eyes, speechless, seeing them swelling with tears, before he leaned forward and touched her lips with his.

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"I am here" Sybille cried towards Sania, seeing her at the edge of the Forest. "Come here"

Sania entered the Forest and gasped.

"What the-?"

"We'll talk later" the woman replied. Somehow, Sania noticed, purple fit her perfectly. But what the hell! "How's the Queen managing?"

"Badly. She's exhausted" Sania replied. "We'll give her a two-day break before starting her training again, this time in a less tiring way."

"Hmm… Yessss… It must be quite difficult for her. Tell her she has all my trust and my help"

"I will. But what happened Sybille? What's wrong with you? You look…"

"This is what I _should_ look like" she replied. "My natural shape. I must go now, I just realized a flaw in one of my plans and need to fix it. Take care!"

"We will" Sania assured her and the other woman urged her horse to gallop through the Forest.

"Enemies of Fal'sil, beware" Sania sighed, remembering what she knew about the other woman. "Sybille has awoken"

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AN: I love the song 'Save tonight' by Eagle Eye Cherry! I looooooooove it. And it's playing on the radio! Cya!

Thanks to my dear reviewers!

Fuyu Taki: Thanks for the review… and Voldie isn't possessing her _now_ –hint, hint-

Dark672: You're welcome. Thanks!

Tsuetsu: Yes, it _should_ come together. I'm just wondering how it will, though. Especially since I get new ideas here and there all the time.

GamingGuy84: You know, having Amala going out with somebody her own age might work somehow… let's see how the next chapter works out.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

Note: fluff including Severus and Amala will be put between DDDDDDDDs instead of IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIs.

**FANFICTION COMPETITON!**

**Opened and running!**

Check out the Phoenix Feather Competition at:

http/groups dot 15

"You still kiss-… I… Thank you" Monica said slowly. "You still kiss the same."

"Do I?" Severus asked, slowly.

"Yes" she smiled. "For a second there, I thought you were going to just stay there, show me that it's over, but… thank you"

"What if it isn't?" he whispered.

"What!"

He breathed in, before looking up.

"Why me? Why now?" he questioned nobody in particular, before looking back to Monica and opening his mouth. He stood like that for a second before closing it. Then he opened it again and closed it. He then got a determined look on his face before he smiled a bit in an odd way towards Monica. "What if I told you that I still care for you, too?"

"You do?" she frowned. "But what about Amala?… You love us both."

It was not a question, but a statement and Severus knew it. She had understood.

"I do" he replied simply. "I know _you_ understand, but this is all such a horrible timing. I don't want to hurt her. For nothing in the world. I don't know… If you hadn't loved me…"

"We should wait" she answered and permitted herself to smile. "Dating both aunt and niece, are you? Would that be considered morally wrong?"

"I've been wondering about that myself" Severus replied. "It's not the same as dating mother and daughter and the two of you… I never suspected you were related. It's some kind of a twisted joke, don't you think?"

"I guess" she replied, snorting slightly. "Come, sit down."

She dragged him to her chair and made him sit down before sitting on his lap and putting her head on his shoulder.

"Why can't it all be over? I'm growing so tired of all this" Severus muttered. "I wish that all would be well… that the war would end and we could begin a new life, in which I'd be with both you and Amala… To live at the Manor. But it is too much to ask"

"No, no, love" Monica said, putting her forehead against his. "It is only fair we ask of what we wish most. I wish it would be over, too. And maybe it _will_ be over, before we realize it."

Severus let out a short bark of laughter.

"How can we not realize it is over? Tell me, how on Earth could we not? How could everything end in any other way than before, in any other way than a last battle?"

"You never know" she smiled briefly. "Life is something free of what we believe. Things might come out as we believe they would or they could not."

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Sybille urged her horse on when a thought came into her mind, as soft as wind, as powerful as a thunderstorm. She knew where the Dark Lord's quarters were. She could get in them. She would do it. Everybody always thought that the last battle of this war would be one in which Voldemort would attack Hogwarts or the Ministry. What if the Fal'sil attacked _him_ instead?

Oh, gods, that would do well. Imagine, even if he escaped the place, he would be trapped without a hideout. And the Fal'sil had good chasers among them. They would hunt every last Death Eater down.

But for now, she needed to get to her kin, to talk to her brothers and sisters of species, the few of them that were left. The dark elves were a dying race, despite their immortality. Their world was dying and they with it, since other beings had invaded it. But Sybille could save them. It was not for nothing that she had left her kind and went to live with the Fal'sil, becoming soon one of the most important people in the kingdom… No, Sybille had a purpose. She wanted to save her own. By time, yes, she truly fell in love with the place and started considering herself Fal'silian. She decided she would stay there, faithful to that kingdom until the end of her days, no matter what the king would decide about her request.

Unfortunately, the old king had denied the shelter they so needed and she had not dared ask the day elves. There had been a raft between the two species long ago and she did not wish to push her luck.

Maybe Jane Chase, true queen of her kind, would let them take part of her land and make it their own. At first she had doubted the child, but now she'd grown closer to the elf's heart.

Maybe the two would reach an agreement about the attack on Voldemort.

Sybille could _laugh_ at the face the Bastard would make when they attacked.

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Somewhere far, far away, or perhaps not so far as it was in a different world and therefore physical distances did not count, a young woman was staring in something that resembled a Pensive. She was staring in disbelief, in amazement and once again in disbelief.

Kate Samantha Backfield widened her eyes before she started laughing and the heads of pensive, mourning dead people turned towards her. The Veil that she was guarding shivered and she cried:

"DEATH! DEATH! HEY! SEE THIS!"

It was then that it struck her that the Unspeakables on the other side, the ones studying the Veil in the Department of Mysteries would understand something else out of her cry, but she frankly did _not_ care. She was so excited and so amused that she couldn't give a damn. And she started laughing like an idiot.

The dead people watched in disapproval as the Death Guardian rolled on the floor laughing. How dared she laugh in front of their misery at being dead? How dared she always crack jokes at them? They were dead, forever to be kept in this place of sorrow and pain. How dared she laugh at them always! And be so cheery! How dared she laugh in the face of Death!

The dead people were silent as a tall completely black woman appeared in front of the said Death Guardian and watched her amusedly as she looked up.

"Aaaah!" Kate cried. "Whoa, don't _do_ that!"

"Appear right in front of you out of nowhere?" the woman asked humorously.

"No, appear here with your skin all black! Gods, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

The woman shook her head and her skin immediately turned into a tanned one.

"You can't die remember?"

"Yeah, but still!" Kate said. "Take a look here, Death, amuse yourself."

"Oh, yes, the situation is rather interesting" Death said, a grin on her face, even though she didn't even glance in the Pensive-thing. "But I already knew."

"You did?" Kate asked, pouting. "And I who thought I'd show you something interesting…"

"Well, I _am _all-knowing" Death pointed out. "And besides, it's _deadly_ amusing to see them do that. Voldemort will be very pissed, I believe. And shocked. Same goes with Sybille. Oh, and get ready, you're going on a mission soon, to recover a reluctant ghost who doesn't want to die. Use your very impressive shape, the one I showed you."

"Gotcha" the young woman replied.

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Report for the Department of Mysteries –Veil of Death research 

_Today, at 8:43 AM, there was laughter behind the Veil of Death, a maniacal laughter. Immediately after, there were two cries of 'Death!', before a 'Hey!' and 'See this!' that sounded quite menacing. The voice crying out was female. After that there was maniacal laughter again. _

_Agents Timothy Berthoud and Jim Morrison agree on the idea that from time to time the souls behind the veil are taken to hell by evil female spirits, if not Death herself. We believe that most souls loose power in the Otherworld, but the few who are still powerful enough when the evil female spirits come fight their influence as much as they can. _

_Further study is needed._

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Halloween was quickly approaching and Sania felt tired. Definitely tired. The young queen was getting much better at many things, but she was still a child and she was very tired herself. Hell, who involved in the war wasn't! The old Malfoy Manor had been quickly adapted to become a death trap for any of Voldemort's forces inside, one of Sybille's better ideas.

Speaking of which, Sania hadn't heard of Sybille for a long time. What would happen soon? It was obvious that even though Jane was queen, Sybille was in charge of things, having taken power from the viceroy with the switch of royalty. Viceroy Theodore hadn't been too happy, to say the least, but most people didn't complain. The viceroy was a politician. Sybille was a warrior and a strategist. She left all the internal stuff in charge of Theodore and she went around to arranging everything for the war. It was a good arrangement.

But what would happen now? If something happened to Sybille, would Jane be able to find a replacement for her soon enough? Well, Akanai, Sania's current lover, was a definitely good choice. He was built as a king, even though he was only the ruler of a city. But as far as she had understood, the Fal'silian cities worked somewhat like independent communities, allowed to have their own sets of rules and all that.

But there was one thing that Sania hadn't managed to understand, despite the long time she'd spent in the Fal'silian world: what exactly _was_ the Fal'sil? The kingdom? The people? The world? Hell! They called things differently all the time! Oh, never mind. It wasn't relevant anyway.

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Harry led Luna up to the North Tower, in an old room. It was a well-known room used mostly by couples and if the door was locked, one knew somebody was inside and wouldn't enter. At least, that's what Ron had told him. Harry believed him.

Inside the room there was an old couch, in a very good shape, though and two armchairs. It was a comfortable-looking room and the couple immediately liked it.

"Let's sit down" Harry suggested and Luna smiled and nodded at him. Soon enough, both of them were seated and Harry awkwardly leant over to her and kissed her. She giggled under his lips and he found he didn't mind her giggling at all. She wasn't giggling because he was acting stupid, he knew that much.

"How far did you ever get with a girl?" she asked in an amused way.

"Um… Nowhere further than I got with you" Harry replied.

"Oh. I never had a boyfriend before" Luna replied and smiled at him, reaching a hand out and playing with his black hair. "I guess you're kinda nice, though"

"Um… thanks?"

"No problem"

He leaned forward to kiss her again and felt her hands pulling a bit at his shirt. His eyes widened in surprise and she laughed at his expression as her hands slipped on his bare skin.

"I thought it was time to move just a bit forward, what do you think?"

"I guess" Harry replied, tentatively siding her hands under her blouse.

And feeling very awkward.

His friends would laugh their heads off. He could bet that even Ron had known what to do when he'd first been in that situation. Harry knew nothing! Nothing! He was clueless! Why hadn't he asked Ron! AAAH! Oh, well, not the time to panic, not the time to panic. But just imagine if he'd went out with Amala now, instead of Luna, she'd probably be laughing maniacally at him now. Gods, and if Snape would know! Oh, for the love of God! Don't panic, don't panic… He'd faced Death Eaters and Voldemort. Surely he would be able to figure out what to do so Luna wouldn't laugh at him for being clueless.

Oh, imagine how he'd be in bed… Yes, he knew about the flowers and the bees, but, but…

He was soooooooooooooo clueless.

He tentatively pulled her closer to him and she kissed him. Oh, well. So far, so good. Wait… Luna wouldn't want them to have sex now, would she? Just because he'd brought them there? Because, if she did, he had nothing like condoms.

Did wizards even _have_ condoms?

Okay… he was sliding his hands around her back… Would she mind terribly if he touched her breasts? Okay, how the hell was he supposed to bend his hand to be able to touch them? Oh, oh! Like _that_. Okay, he was around the area… Should he, shouldn't he…

Luna started laughing and Harry immediately felt himself stiffen.

"You're… you're tickling me!" she laughed and his hand nearly fell. "Don't stop!"

Don't stop? So, she wasn't _that_ disappointed! Okay, hand back… trying to hold her breast. He was holding it… now what? Okay, move your hand slightly… kiss her… it was so damned complicated!

"What?" he asked, confused, realizing Luna was casually taking off his shirt.

"It's damned uncomfortable" she explained and he suddenly winded up topless, blinking in surprise. However, he soon got rid of the surprised when she started kissing his neck. Well, he liked _that_. Okay, relax, Harry, relax…

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"Hello, Snape"

"Black. What did you want to see me for?"

Sirius entered the room and walked towards his old enemy, feeling nervous, but not wanting to show it on the outside.

"Amala."

"What about her?"

"Where were you the day after she was attacked? She needed help."

"She can take care of herself and I do believe she went to you, didn't she? I cannot possibly be there for her all the time, taking the role as everything in her life. She needs friends and… bigger brothers or whatever. I do believe you agree to that. And besides, she did not search for me, she went to you."

"So that's fine with you?" Sirius questioned, taking a seat in front of Snape. He felt uncomfortable there, in Snape's private quarters. Had Amala and Snape ever… on the couch? He hated the thought immediately.

"Yes, it is. I am, could and do not want to be the only person in her life. It would be in her detriment."

Sirius sighed slightly and shook his head.

"Maybe you _are_ a decent person."

"Thank you, Black. That has to be the most flattering compliment I have ever received."

"I'm sorry" Sirius said with a small smile. "I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"What do my ears hear? The great Sirius black apologizing? God forbid, the apocalypse is drawing nearer."

It wasn't said with loathing, just deep sarcasm and Sirius sighed internally. The man was intentionally being difficult, hiding in his sarcasm yet again.

"Or maybe I simply do not want to see Amala distressed because of a fight between us."

"You believe her too weak. She knows we do not get along."

"Who doesn't?"

"Precisely. She therefore would not be surprised to see us in a duel. Although she would not be too pleased."

"I believe she'd hex us both to hell and back."

"Perhaps _you_, Black. I am in a good enough shape and have enough skill to be able to face a 17 year-old."

"Whatever" Sirius rolled his eyes, not in the mood to hear that much sarcasm. "Well, don't hurt her. And take good care of her."

Severus opened his mouth to say something sarcastic, but closed it back and shook his head.

"She is not made out of glass, Black. Deal with it."

He got up and stretched an arm towards the Gryffindor. Sirius stared at the hand as if not understanding and Snape snorted.

"You _are_ an idiot. Have you never shaken hands before!"

Sirius stared at Severus instead and took his hand, shaking it slowly, as if in a dream. The odd type one where you can't understand anything. Oh, well, that was Slytherin to you.

"Good day, Snape"

"Goodbye, Black"

And with that, Sirius left. No way! _Snape_ had shaken his hand! Apocalypse _was_ approaching!

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Binns floated around Hogwarts, a few magical devices in his hands. He _would_ help the Heir of Slytherin, as he was supposed to and then he would go rest. His family had been supposed to serve the Slytherins and their Heirs, but the ghost was the last of the line. He had no clue why, but no woman had desired to marry him. But he'd been so desirable in the past! What could they _possibly_ not like? Yes, well, he had a passion for history, but that was only because of the family he was in. How would it be possible to serve the Slytherins if you didn't know their past?

He shook his head. Soon all would be over, hopefully by the Heir winning the war! Oh, that would be wonderful! And if he would die… there would be no more hope, since the Dark Lord was the last of Slytherin's line. Just like the old ghost was the last of the Binns. Except for that great-great-great grandchild of one of the Binns squibs, but he didn't count. He was no better than a Muggle, a completely non-magical person.

But now he had to concentrate on his task and put the magical devices that transmitted the images from one place to another, much like Muggle surveillance cameras, in their proper places. He only had the Slytherin common room, the Great Hall, the kitchens and the Headmaster's office left. The 296 other devices had been carefully planted.

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AN: Luna/Harry fluff! Man, did I have fun writing _that_! Sooooo much fun! Laughed myself off the chair. So, Read&Review and tell me what you thought!

Thanks to: inu-kokoro, Fuyu Taki, tsuetsu, awsome twin and GamingGuy84

Replies:

Fuyu Taki: Voldemort hearing of the Prophecy :cringes: That's bad. Maybe I'll check out your story some time. ;-)

GamingGuy84: lol. If it's not Amala/Severus, it's Evil! Binns. I _do _tend to do evil little things, don't I? To answer your question as to why Dumbledore doesn't know, it's because Binns has been there for a loooooooong time and who would really suspect a ghost as a spy? But Binns has made one very grave mistake… Oh, well… his problem. Also, I'd like to make this official: you're the first person to call me Z. Ever. I've been called M., Maly, zimagesto, Midget (don't ask) and Saren. I'll have to record this somewhere ;-)


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

Note: fluff including Severus and Amala will be put between DDDDDDDDs instead of IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIs.

Chapter 16

Halloween. What is Halloween? Well, now it's a popular day in which kids dress as witches, ghosts or whatever crosses their mind and go trick-or-treating. But before, it was a celebration about the dead. You can always ask Kate Samantha Backfield for more information about that one, because she's been a Guardian of Death for a long, long time and she knows.

Of course, it is most likely you'll meet her when you're dead, so you may have to wait a while to ask that. And God knows what can happen to her next, since she's completely annoying a lot of dead people right now. Oh, yeah, tell me, which sane, depressed person would be calm about a twenty-year old woman with short spiky brown hair jumping up and down in front of the gate towards life holding a jar of candy and dancing to a song that's being played out of nowhere.

"And that was, my dead ladies and gentlemen, "Huron 'Beltane' Fire Dance" by Loreena McKennitt. And next, a special Halloween dedication to all of you, from the very same extraordinary singer, "All Souls Night"!"

"WOMAN!" one of the completely pissed people decided to cry.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up! Here we are, contemplating our deaths and you are…"

"Trying to cheer you up" she replied simply. "Come on, life is beautiful!"

There were a lot of groans about that one.

"Hey, come on, guys, just because you died, it doesn't mean it's time to drown yourself in sorrow. Death isn't the end of the world, you know"

Groans again.

"You're not even really dead" she said, rolling her eyes.

"What!"

Well, that got their interest.

"Duh! There's no such thing as death, you pitiful little idiots! It's all in your mind. Death is… more like a transition. You cross from a place to another. Yeah, sure, you can't go back to Earth being as you were, but still. It's a change, a breath of fresh air… what you need to do is learn to move on. You're here in this absolutely desolating grey place because you are so clenched to the other world you can't even think about moving on. Why, I was once Guardian at the Gate of Ravens. That was fun! It was this great place, it looked like the top of a mountain and the gate was huuuuuuuuuuge, I mean, a hoard of elephants could've gotten through in a stampede without getting crowded. And all these interesting adventurers would come by for a chat through the Gate and then leave forward to other plains. It was cool. And then I got transferred here. No matter, though. I like this place, too. It's… charming in a depressing sort of way."

The dead people did _not_ like the end of that speech.

"What are you so happy about now?" somebody asked.

"It's Halloween and a lot of things are about to happen" she smiled wickedly. "Want me to project everything like a movie to you in mid-air and make it look like cinema?"

Murmurs broke out through the place, growing in enthusiasm and everybody soon agreed.

"Well, watch this, dead guys, 'cause the world as you know it never existed and it was actually a Game of some crazy Creator. Or at least, that's my theory."

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Severus Snape lied on his couch, thinking about what Monica and Amala. And surprisingly enough, Lily Potter.

Monica had 'assisted' him in his classes today, making his life a bit harder and cheering up a few students with Halloween tricks. It was a good thing he still loved her. Of course, he'd made a show of getting angry in each class, growling, snarling and generally being his usual classroom self, but both he and Monica knew he wouldn't ever turn her into a three-headed dog named Fluffy, poison her with one of Lockhart's recipes for cooking fish or throwing her into the North Tower into Trelawney's classroom to have her future told. Well, maybe the last. She deserved it.

With this occasion, students wondered what Amala had ever seen in him. And he didn't need any Legilimency to find that out. The Gryffindor seventh years also wondered how on Earth both Monica and Amala were able to still like him. And Monica and Amala… well… they were laughing so much when everybody else was gone he'd had to use calming potions.

But also, Monica had noticed how he still narrowed his eyes at one Harry Potter more than he should have. And Amala had told her that he'd started 'giving the poor boy a rest'. Which brought the discussion around to why he hated him. He'd given his reasons, of course… And Monica had seen what everybody else had before: he saw James Potter in Harry Potter. And surprisingly enough, Monica had said the only thing that could make him reconsider his attitude towards Potter Jr.

"Well, he looks a lot like his father. But actually, I think he's more like Lily than James."

Lily… Lily had been his first ever crush. Nothing had come out of it, he'd been eleven, almost twelve, at the time and he hadn't understood what a crush _was_ until long after it had ended. But they'd been good friends for a long time, ever since the first ride on the Hogwarts Express. She hadn't liked the Gryffindors at first, too noisy for her taste, too childish. Severus on the other hand, was mature and sometimes too old for his age. The other Slytherins didn't like him too much either.

Lily had helped him at first, making him open up a bit. She was an excellent study partner and a very good company. She knew when to ask questions and when to just hold him. He'd hated his parents and they hadn't liked him too much either. Sometimes he'd steal a broomstick and fly to her and visit her during the summer holidays. Oh, her sister, Petunia had hated him. He'd always been 'that awful boy' to her. 'That awful boy'…

He remembered one time when he'd flown to her house and they went walking through a park and ended up on a bench. He'd told her that his father had just ended up in Azkaban for a short period of time.

"I don't want him to come back" he'd said. "I hope the Dementors kill him."

"Dementors!" she'd asked, surprised.

"Yeah, haven't you heard of them?"

"No, never."

"My God! _The_ Lily Evans never heard of Dementors! Well, they are the guards of Azkaban, the wizarding prison. They're not human, they're… something else. They look like dead people cloaked and hooded in black that glide instead of walk. Like ghostly black grim reapers, only without holding anything to kill you with. They suck happiness and joy and hope out of everything around them and make you feel horrible. People go mad there, in Azkaban. It's because they think they'll never be happy again"

"That's horrible!"

The voice had come from two different girls, Lily and her sister, Petunia.

"What are _you_ doing here!" he'd spat. "Come to spy on us, eh?"

"Yeah! You're a horrible person, Snape!"

"Always were, always will be! Now scatter, you Muggle or I'll turn you into a toad!"

Petunia had run off screaming with fright.

"Why'd you do that?" Lily had asked, upset and he's sighed.

"Sorry. It's just that… well… I hate it when people spy on us. I know, I know, it's no reason. Tell her I said sorry."

"I will" she'd replied rolling her eyes.

The next summer he hadn't gone to visit her. His father had come out of Azkaban and found out of their friendship sometime before the OWLs and threatened to kill her if Severus didn't break the friendship off. And so, during a fight with James Potter, he'd called her a Mudblood… and started acting like a snobbish Pureblood with her. He'd regretted that, he'd wanted to make it up, but by the time he'd gathered courage to do it… she'd died. It's such a stupid thing, life.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The Order of the Phoenix had been next to last announced of the attack. The very last had been the Aurors. But everybody had been announced, which was basically a good thing. Except that they'd been announced about two hours before the attack. The attack that they were about to conduct against Voldemort in the old Malfoy Manor, his new Headquarters.

Now, everybody was surprised, since they'd all expected that they'd wait for the Dark Wizard would attack and then try to kill him. Hopefully, Voldemort would be surprised too.

And so the army of Fal'sil people, some elves, some night elves, part of the Order of the Phoenix and part of the Auror Department were now moving in position to attack.

Voldemort positioned his troops. The idiots wouldn't know what hit them. They really wouldn't. After all, how should they be expecting an attack now, like this? Oh, no, everything was so carefully planned. He just hoped that Dumbledore would be as surprised as his Death Eaters were when he'd called them for the attack.

The Darkelings were caged and under silencing spells. It wouldn't do to alert the enemy of his plans.

Sybille was in charge of the troops. Voldemort would probably think it was Dumbledore, but it wouldn't be him. Nope, it would be her leading the attack.

Voldemort hoped that the others didn't know about the Darkelings.

Sybille stared at the large building. It was definitely a good place for the Dark Lord to choose as quarters. After all, it was creaking with magic and especially protection charms and wards.

Voldemort stared at the large building. It definitely had quite a lot of wards and protection charms on it.

Sybille gave the signal and some people went in the building by the secret passages. The others waited quietly for the others to be inside before attacking. It would be a long day, a long fight. But it would be held during daylight and it was known that dark wizards did not like fights to happen during the day.

Voldemort smirked. Fools.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

At that point of time, a few people who were seeing this turned towards God and said, all as one:

"You've got to be kidding me!"

God just smiled amusedly.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Everything was clear. Sybille charged and the Manor was suddenly under siege, everybody de-activating wards, fighting a few guards who were screaming in surprise and trying to bring down the walls since the doors were very well reinforced.

Voldemort gave the signal and everybody charged at Hogwarts, fighting off the Giant Squid and trying to bring down the ancient wards.

And after five or so minutes of fighting, the two armies realized the terrible, yet ironical truth that had a really tiny, minuscule, really, really small chance of happening: the others were not there. But if they were not there and nobody was being summoned for help, then where were-

"Holly-!" Minerva McGonagall cried. "Hogwarts is under attack!"

"Fuck!" cried a Death Eater. "The Manor is being attacked!"

Which brought the insane question along: what to do? Go back and protect the territory, or conquer this one while nobody's here, secure it and then see what's up in the other place?

Sybille decided to go on in attacking the Manor. They'd conquer it, secure it and then check up old Hogwarts that had enough wards to keep the others busy for a day and a night. After all, they'd get in easier, having permission from the Malfoy heir.

Voldemort decided to go on attacking Hogwarts and take over that girl he'd possessed last time while he was at it and get her to let them in. And so, he sent Wormtail forth to bring the girl out.

Back at the Manor. Apparently, some incompetent Death Eater had opened the portal to the Darkeling world and there were hungry beasts everywhere, so the armies of light retreated, realizing that the place was not worth it.

Hogwarts. Voldemort encountered some problems with the Darkelings and the wards and decided it would be a good time to retreat. He gave the signal for retreating and letting the beasts there. Let Dumbledore deal with them.

Still Hogwarts. Voldemort's entire army gathered around for leaving when Sybille's appeared. For a long moment, everybody stared at everybody and Voldemort saw he was in disadvantage.

"I left you a present, Dumbledore!" he cried, seeing that the others were outnumbering him a bit and that they were fighting on their own grounds. It was best to flee. "Retleave!"

Sybille sincerely considered going after him, but when she saw the hundred or so Darkeling forces that didn't care who or what they ate as long as they did so, she decided that securing the territory before something bad happened was a better idea.

And so everything finished with relatively no bloodshed and in a very short amount of time. And of course, because Hogwarts had had a charm placed on it so that students wouldn't notice what was going outside when Sybille's army had gathered, they had no clue that one of the greatest battles in recent history had been avoided by, as Minerva McGonagall put it, 'sheer dumb irony'.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

God smiled his mischievous smile. The day was not over yet. And this Halloween, he intended to have a lot more fun than usual. So, he sent in the cavalry. Or rather, the big surprise.

One of the people who knew what was happening sighed.

"Well, the madness might as well be over today" he murmured. "Anybody interested in going back in time and killing his father or mother when they were kids and create a paradox to doom us all?"

Thankfully nobody wanted it.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The Halloween feast was drawing near and nobody of the student body, with the obvious exception of a few Gryffindors, a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin, now in a special room in Hogwarts, knew nothing about the surprising, improbable double-attack.

"But it just couldn't _be_" Ron said.

"Well" Hermione started and everybody looked at her, curious as to what she was going to say. "Have you read anything by Douglas Adams?"

"No" the others admitted.

"Well, he wrote 'the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's a nice book where Improbability is very much exploited."

"Oh, I've read it!" Draco said with a grin. "All five parts of the trilogy."

"Doesn't a trilogy have _three_ parts?" Luna asked curiously. "Or is it different to Muggles?"

"Well, Adams said" Hermione started "that what made him write a trilogy in four, later five parts was a poor grasp on arithmetic. Yes, Muggles have trilogies in three parts too. Well, usually."

"It was a funny book" laughed Draco. "I liked the part in which it explained how a human being can learn how to fly."

"How?" Harry asked curiously.

"By throwing himself at the ground and missing."

"Yes, that was a nice part. As well as the one about Ford's planet, which was destroyed when a Hrung collapsed on it."

"Definitely" Draco agreed.

"What's a Hrung…?" Harry asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Nobody knows" Hermione and Draco replied at the same time and then laughed. "I'll give you the book" Hermione said. "It's great. It's about this alien guy, Ford Prefect-"

"Isn't that a car?" Ron asked.

"Well, yes" Hermione replied. "But it's also the main character's name. He's a Hitch Hiker from a planet next to Betlegeuse who ended up on Earth for fifteen years. It's really funny. Oh, well, we should go to the feast."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was a beautiful evening and the professors were all at the table, discussing what the hell had just gone on. Oh, well, they'd all just settle down to a nice evening. Hopefully the madness was over.

The students were eating and the pumpkins were floating, bats were flying and ghosts were walking around, smiling at the students –or not-.

Finally it came to the ghosts' shows and everybody enjoyed to see a few interesting plays with Nearly Headless Nick and Myrtle in them –she'd found her passion in acting and was very excited-. Professor Binns had floated by the Tables as if searching for something. The Bloody Baron had pretended to kill Peeves. Peeves hadn't known it was a play. So it had all been very realistic.

Soon it was all over and students were ready to go to bed when the lights in the pumpkins flickered and lowered, leaving everything in obscurity. Murmurs filled the Hall and Dumbledore had just gotten up to see what was wrong when the doors opened and a cloaked and hooded figure stepped inside. He looked like a Death Eater, but he was wearing no mask.

Everything had gone deadly quiet and the figure just walked slowly to the middle of the Hall, keeping everything silent and dark with his mere presence. And when he made it in the very middle, he stopped and slowly took off his hood.

"Jack Towers" Dumbledore gasped.

"No" he replied. Nearly everybody frowned. But… "Jack Strois. Master of Jack Towers and Owner of Hogwarts."

Not even his presence could keep the students from talking to each other, though they did so quietly.

"Owner of Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked and everybody quieted. "What do you mean?"

Nobody noticed Binns paling.

"In times of old, a thousand years ago, Hogwarts had just been built by four great wizards. I'm sure you all know their names by now. To celebrate this, they went on a hunt, their favorite sport, just before the school actually started functioning."

Images started showing up all around the students, like holograms. Two men and two women on horses, walking through a forest. One of them looked towards the other with admiration.

"_Salazar, what do your little friends say?"_ he asked and nearly everybody gaped. The other man bowed down over his horse and hissed something to a snake on the ground before pulling himself up again.

"_He said the stag is close, he saw it just five minutes ago and it went towards west"_

"They were hunting the white stag" Jack Strois said and everybody decided this way of teaching history was way better than how Binns did it. "For the white stag is a magical creature that grants you wishes if you catch it."

"_We should get some horses to pull the carriages to the school"_ a woman said. _"They're so wonderful!"_

"_I had that in mind too, sister. How about Thestrals?"_ Gryffindor asked.

"_Not all will see them" _she replied.

"_It would be more interesting, don't you think?"_

The woman nodded.

"Unfortunately" continued Strois "on the way, they did not meet the stag, but other creatures, darker creatures, wishing to kill them."

The images changed, showing that everything had darkened and the Founders –amazing! They were actually watching _the Founders_!- still on their horses, pacing again. And then the horses started to bee very nervous and Gryffindor's got on two feet.

"_Whoa! Whoa! What's wrong?"_ the Founder questioned. He was answered by about twenty people coming towards the four of them. The horses started neighing and Strois continued his story.

"Outnumbered, they were doomed to defeat. These were vampires attacking and vampires did not like them at all."

"_Shit!"_ Slytherin cried, making the Slytherins stare at him.

"No shit!" cried Gryffindor, starting to fight with a sword and a stick as the others shot spells.

Soon enough, Gryffindor's horse was down and he nearly got himself killed by the vampires as they started attacking him more and more.

"_We're losing!"_ Slytherin cried _"Godric, get yourself safe, for God's sake!"_

"_I'm trying! Ok, maybe a bit of help!"_

Nobody could help him though and he was pushed back against a tree. Ravenclaw's horse was down soon too.

"_By gum!"_ she cried_. "These guys are determined!"_

Soon enough Hufflepuff got her horse killed and jumped into a tree. Slytherin looked around and his horse was soon down, too.

"_My best horse"_ he said, pissed off.

"_Let's hope it's the most you lose tonight!"_ Gryffindor cried.

It was captivating to see a battle from so long ago played before your eyes, vampires moving through the tables like ghosts, the Founders acting like they had so long ago, probably not knowing that this scene would ever be shown to anybody.

But they were losing! The Founders! They were losing! And then a dark, cloaked and hooded figure, on a black beautiful horse galloped into the battle and jumped off the horse, the black animal running away.

The person attacked the vampires around him. They started to turn to dust everywhere and the Founders got themselves free of their opponents. The balance of power had been changed because of this single person. This person who'd got his hood lost soon into the battle. And he looked precisely like Jack Strois, and therefore Jack Towers, only with brown hair and borwn eyes and a scar under his left eye.

Hufflepuff climbed out of the tree.

"_Thank you"_ she said. _"You saved our lives"_

"_I have"_ he admitted.

"_We owe you one, brave warrior!"_ Gryffindor said.

"_You do"_ he again admitted. The man had no modesty!

"_How can we repay you?"_ asked Ravenclaw

Strois smiled.

"_It would be a great payment I would ask if you decided to repay me."_

"_It doesn't matter"_ Gryffindor said and the Slytherins made disbelieving noises.

"_Would it be money that you want?"_ Slytherin asked. _"Two thousand galleons?"_

Strois started laughing.

"_No, two thousand galleons is not enough."_

"_Three?"_ asked Ravenclaw

"No" 

"_Four?"_ asked Hufflepuff.

"No" 

"_Five? Six? Seven? Tens of thousands of galleons?"_ Gryffindor asked, each time the man shaking his head. _"Then what? Help, maybe?"_

"_You want us to help you do something?" _Ravenclaw asked.

"_We'd help!"_ Hufflepuff agreed.

"_We would" _Slytherin added suspiciously.

"_Nor help nor money is what I want"_ Strois answered.

"_Then what?" _Ravenclaw asked, obviously sick of the guessing game.

"_You are the ones who built the school, right?"_ Strois asked with a smile.

"_Yes, yes, we are!" _Hufflepuff said enthusiastically.

"_Hogwarts you have named it, haven't you?"_ Strois asked.

"_Yes, Hogwarts" _Hufflepuff replied. _"You want us to change the name of the school?"_ she asked, raising an eyebrow and he burst into laughter.

"_No, the name's just fine…" _he answered.

"_Then?" _

"_I want something of a different nature."_

"_Don't tell us you fell in love with one of us"_ Hufflepuff said with a really exhausted look on her face.

"_Then, I won't"_ Strois said and she made a weird face.

"_Tell us if you did" _she mumbled.

"_I didn't tell you"_ he replied.

"I meant fall in love, have you fallen in love with one of us?" 

"_No"_ he said and smiled infuriatingly. _"A different nature is the pay I want"_

"_Who are you?"_ Slytherin asked and Strois turned towards him.

"They call me Jack Strois, Slytherin" 

"_Straw? As in a straw?"_ asked Ravenclaw

"_No, as in a French name, but with the same pronunciation, bringing me a lot of trouble" _he replied. _"Why do people think my name's Straw?"_

"_And how did you appear here like this?" _Slytherin asked, distrustful.

"_I was around"_ he replied. _"I was around with a reason. And that reason was to find you"_

"_Us?"_ Slytherin asked.

"_Yes, you"_ Strois said. _"As a payment for my deed, I want the school, Hogwarts."_

There was a pause for a minute and then Hufflepuff started laughing.

"_You… you're joking, right?"_ she asked in a modern accent.

"_No, I'm not"_ he answered and she went quiet._ "I want the school."_

"_You're crazy, we can't give you the school!" _Gryffindor said. _"It's our life's project, our dream!"_

"_I know" _he said, calmly.

"_But there wouldn't be a school without him"_ Ravenclaw said slowly.

"_Correct!"_ Strois said and smiled. _"So, will you give me your school?"_

"_No!"_ Gryffindor said. _"Anything but the school! It's _our_ school! Our school and we're not giving it!" _

"_I'm with him! There's no way we're leaving Hogwarts!"_ Hufflepuff cried, mad.

"_I never said you'd leave it"_ Strois answered, making everybody, past and present, confused. _"I'd just have the school, I could do anything with it, but you'd be there. It's your creation. You're the founders. And none has to know."_

"_We won't let you change our school like that!"_ Ravenclaw said. _"It's worse than dying!" _

"_I wouldn't let anybody touch it!"_ Gryffindor bellowed.

"_Our school!"_ Hufflepuff huffed.

"_No."_ Slytherin said, calm. _"I knew you'd want something too big for you. And who are you, anyway? You just gave us your name, no detail."_

Strois smiled to himself.

"_I am the Lord of Darkness"_ he answered and everybody stared at him in surprise. Four Founders and Hogwarts Professors and students, everybody stared. _"That's how I got all the vampires off you."_

"_I'm sorry"_ Ravenclaw said _"but we can't give our school even to you."_

He present of Hogwarts stared at the past. Why were the Four Founders suddenly so… reverential? Surely the Lord of Darkness was the Dark Lord of the time, no?

"_I have no intention whatsoever of becoming its ruler. I do have an intention, however, of making it clear who's master, especially after a few years when you would have left the school for others to rule."_ Strois of the past said.

"_You want the school- why?"_ asked Hufflepuff.

"_Hogwarts will become a very threatened place in a while"_ Strois replied. _"With the threat of the war and all, it needs to be protected."_

"_And you will protect it why?"_ Ravenclaw asked the question in the minds of everybody in the Great Hall. If there was a war, surely it would be against the Lord of Darkness, so why would he want to protect the school? Unless… the Founders were all dark.

"_That is just for me to know"_ he answered. _"But I bond myself to protect the school whenever it needs help and never become its tyrant. Maybe Headmaster if it needs one, but never a tyrant. I shall leave things the way you make them to be. I vow to do this, if you formally give me the school."_

"_On what do you vow?" _Slytherin asked and the Strois looked thoughtful.

"_I vow in front of the sun, the moon and the stars. I vow in front of this planet. I vow in front of the sky. And if I do not do as I have said, should I be taken by the cores of magic to you and if you will not agree with what I have done, the thing which I had done should be undone and my bonding to Hogwarts be destroyed."_

The students looked at each other. What-?

"_Well…"_ Gryffindor said

"_Um…" _Ravenclaw continued.

"_Er…"_ Hufflepuff continued.

"_Why the hell not?"_ finished Slytherin. _"Since you did vow like that."_

The images disappeared slowly and Strois smiled at them.

"I can feel your questions. I am not evil. I am a person that comes and goes as he wishes and who has great power upon all that is evil. They call me 'the Lord of Darkness' because I have never been defeated by it. Well… they used to call me that. They don't any more. After this, we signed a magical contract. In three copies. One belongs to me. The other is in Hogwarts. The other, after a lot of traveling around between the heirs of the Founders ended up in the Headmaster's office… So, two to Hogwarts, one for me. This is the contract"

He took out a piece of paper and showed it to everybody before letting it go. It remained there in mid-air before starting to read itself in Strois' voice.

"_Us, the four founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, declare with this contract that the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry now belongs to Jack Strois, the Lord of Darkness. _

_However, we are still above him in ownership and therefore have the first word to say in all that concerns the school. The second to us will be him, before any of our descendants and before the ones we put in charge. _

_I, Jack Strois, take with this contract the second place in school command and vow to protect it when it is in need. I will not go against their will, or this contract will be broken and I will have no power whatsoever over the school and the wards I myself have put will turn, if necessarily, against me. _

_I swear not to do the following: _

_I swear not to take control of the school unless it is necessary. _

_I swear not to change the rules the founders have put in this school without their will. _

_I swear not to change the school system against the founders' will. _

_I swear not to modify in any way the school without their will. _

_I swear not to interfere with the Headmaster's or Headmistress's decisions unless they would come against the founders' will. _

_I, Jack Strois, Lord of Darkness, have written."_

"So, here I am, Owner of Hogwarts" Strois concluded. "I have many things to tell you, many things to do, but first…"

He turned towards the Gryffindor table and grinned maliciously at Binns.

"Heir of Binns, servant of the last remaining Heir of Slytherin, according to your own words, you will leave this existence now. Goodbye!"

"No, reconsider…" the ghost begged. The students stared wide-eyed at the scene. Would wonder never cease? "Please, let me live…"

"You are dead, Adolphus, if I may remind you so. Leave!"

"But-!"

"LEAVE!"

Suddenly shadows gathered in the middle of the room and formed a very beautiful young woman with huge black wings and long black hair, holding one very sharp and shiny scythe.

"Hey, Binns! Nice to see you!" she said in a cold voice. The ghost tried to run away, but the woman jumped after him and cut his head with the scythe. Well, he disappeared the moment the scythe touched him, but still.

"Kate Samantha Backfield" Strois said, rolling his eyes. "Was that necessary? What are you trying to do, scare these people?"

"Oh, come now, Jack-o!" she said, looking very innocent and sounding like a perfectly normal crazed twenty year old. "Death made me do it! She said I should look like this!"

Strois rolled his eyes again.

"This is Kate, she's a Guardian of Death and usually a nice person" he introduced her. "Now, for the reason why I am here… I am here because of the legacy of Sltyherin."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

AN: Well, this was nuts. Lol. I've been planning Jack's Halloween coming ever since I started to work on the Green Flame Torch –which was a long time ago-.

Also, I'm depressed about the amount of reviews I got. Which is one review. Maybe that's why went into slow-mode with the writing. Ah, well… Maybe if I got more :hint, hint:

Thanks to:

Fuyu Taki: I'm glad you still like my story! –it'll be over soon though… oops, spoiler there- And yeah, Harry is awkward around girls. The funny thing is that I was very awkward around boys at first, too. Maybe it just happens:::shrug:

Also, I haven't gotten around to reading your story –mainly because, like many other things including my own stories and plots and a few other stuff, I completely forgot about it. I'll redeem myself soon, though, when I come back from the Art Camp –I'm going in an Art Camp! Haha! I went there last year and it change my life… it did. Not only because of the Camp there, but some other stuff, too :grin: God loves me-


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.

**Author:** zimagesto

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

**Summary:** Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R

Chapter 17

Jack Strois looked around the room pleased. Kate was watching them all blissfully, a huge grin on her face.

"This is quite the day, huh? Haven't had such a mad one in… wow, about three hundred years when there was that mad battle between Rooklooks and O'Reaven. Remember that one, Jacky?"

Strois shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Be quiet. This is a sober and historical moment."

"Right. Gotcha" she nodded and landed on the floor, made her wings disappear and conjured herself a chair on which she sat backwards, facing Strois. "So, tell them about the Legacy of Slytherin!"

"I was getting there" he replied. "Pay attention if you want to stay here, Kate and stop interrupting. In the time of the Founders a war was building up between dark and light, a war that would be devastating for everybody. This war would remain in the history of the wizarding world for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. Hogwarts was constructed not only as a school, but as a military building against the armies of darkness. Its many corridors and rooms would be able to host thousands without problems and the wards would keep the other armies away. It would be a memorable and truly devastating war. Now, please, all of you who indeed heard of this war raise their hands."

Only Hermione, Harry and few others raised their hands, to the surprise of others. Professors were looking at them as if they'd grown another head.

"I never heard of it!" McGonagall said, surprised.

"Precisely" Strois nodded. "Mrs. Granger, could you please tell us why nearly nobody knows about it? I see you have somehow found a book called "Hogwarts: the History"."

She blushed and took a deep breath.

"Because it was supposed to happen, but then… it didn't. The darkness just disappeared."

"Exactly" the Owner of Hogwarts agreed. "There was a big battle, but nowhere near what they had expected. The kingdom of Fal'sil and the Four Founders fought together against the dark creatures from another world that Voldemort also has now. But at the end, the Great Beast, a black creature with the body of a lion and wings and head of a dragon attacked. It was the leader of that army and it had had no illusions about the outcome… it was doomed to loose. You see, the Great Beast was nothing more than the body of a much more dangerous foe that wanted a more complete victory upon its enemies than it would get by defeating four wizards and a kingdom. It wanted Earth and other worlds, but it was not powerful enough to win then and there…"

Strois paused and smiled.

"And there is also something else. This dangerous foe, called 'the Dark Cloud', or the Blackness, could not take the shape of a human being, no matter how hard it tried. It _could_ look like a human, but something would always feel wrong about it. Humans would never obey it, and it knew it. And it wanted to rule humans, because they are very powerful, some would say they are one of God's favorite species. So it decided that because it was immortal, it could wait for better conditions of ruling."

He made a small pause and looked around the Great Hall making sure everybody had understood.

"And it had decided to inhabit the royal family of the Fal'sil forever. The Chase family."

"NO!" Jane Chase cried and everybody looked at her.

"But it couldn't reach Roxana Chase, the queen, because she was protected" Jack continued and Jane let out a relieved breath. "Instead, it decided to inhabit one of the Founders, the best friend of Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin. It nearly killed him, putting him in a coma for a long time. The other three eagerly awaited for him to awaken. At the time that he did, he tried to kill Gryffindor. After that he ordered the basilisk he had bred to remain in the Chamber of Secrets until it could smell his scent again. He had created the Chamber to protect Hogwarts. Now he wanted it so he could satisfy the Cloud's will. After that he escaped… He was a noble and powerful man, a good man until the Cloud touched him and he ended up fighting with it until the end of his life, which made him mad. Finally he killed himself. Unfortunately, the Dark Cloud passed from him to his heir and then to the heir's heir and so on, becoming the legacy of the Slytherins. It verified the magical power of children at birth and took over their minds if it wanted to. Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort's grandfather lived with it since he was six. Marvolo's son carried it from birth. Marvolo's daughter never had it within her… But the moment the Cloud saw Voldemort, it took over him and destroyed everything that made him human. I pity the one who believes he is Voldemort, for he is nothing more than a tool."

There was a long pause and Strois conjured himself a large black armchair.

"So Voldemort never really was himself" Hermione muttered to herself, but surprisingly, everybody heard that.

"You are right" he answered. "We are now facing the Dark Cloud, not the Dark Lord. And we must vanquish it. I will be here to guide, but I cannot help you. It is forbidden."

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Because if I enter the war, many beings with great power on the other side will too. We would be able to defeat them, but many of you, maybe all of you, would not be around to enjoy victory. It is why us immortals do not often have wars."

"Are you a vampire?" a Hufflepuff asked and he turned his head towards her smiling slightly.

"No. I am not a vampire. I am something else. My kind do not have a name, maybe because I am one of a very small kind, only five of us. Call me an angel, if you wish. A special type of angel."

There were whispers around the all and even Kate Backfield seemed surprised.

"Whoa! An angel, Jack-o!"

"It's the closest thing to what I am, though I may be rewarded with humanity someday…" Strois replied nostalgically. "But never mind that. It's not relevant. All to bed now. You've got school tomorrow and it won't do for you to fall asleep during classes."

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It was three days since Strois had appeared in the castle. Everybody was still whispering down the corridors about him, but it had gotten calmer. He'd arranged himself a room somewhere and was rarely seen. In fact, he was only seen when he wanted to be seen.

Amala hurried down the corridors, wrapped in her cloak. Tonight she was going to Severus, but it was close to curfew and she wasn't sure how well any Professor would take it if she told them she was going to spend time with her boyfriend and that's why she was out of bed. Oh, she could just imagine McGonagall's face! "Professor, I swear, Professor Snape will punish me for being out after curfew, you needn't worry!"

"Amala Wright!"

She stopped dead in her tracks, her cloak swishing around her for a second. She turned back, scouting the opened door she hadn't noticed. Strois stood in the frame, regarding her peacefully.

"Yes?"

"You don't have a History of Magic Professor, do you?"

"No, sir" she replied, wondering what he had in mind.

"I could take the job myself, but I'm not sure I want to" he said, thoughtfully. "I was actually considering offering your aunt this job. What do you think?"

"Me, sir?" she asked, surprised.

"Drop the 'sir'. And yes, you. What do you think? I already have my mind made up, but I am curious."

"Well, you would probably be a good teacher, since you were around when history was written" Amala replied and instantly wondered if it was rude to say that. Watching him carefully and seeing that he was only attentive, she decided it wasn't rude. "But Mona is a nice person and she likes history, so she'd do great too. Anybody would be better than Binns."

Strois smirked.

"_That_ I know. Well, your aunt will be the new History of Magic Professor starting the day after tomorrow. And when she will want to leave, I just might hire Kate Backfield. For sharing the humorous parts of history."

"The Death woman!"

"Yes, her. She's sweet. Maybe I'll get Death to do me a favor. Well, go then. Your boyfriend awaits and I can tell he loves you very much… Don't forget that. And don't forget that both you and he are free beings."

"Um… ok" Amala replied, frowning a bit. "Goodnight."

He nodded in farewell and she turned on her heels, hurrying even more down the corridors. How did he know where she was going? Well, maybe it was obvious, but what about the odd things he said? Maybe he was just being odd.

She stopped in front of Severus's door and knocked gently. It swung open and she could see him right in front of her.

"Hi!" she whispered and entered the room, feeling him close the door behind her. His arms circled her waist and his breath tickled her neck.

"Welcome" he said slowly.

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Morning came quietly upon Hogwarts and Amala woke in Severus's arms. She shifted a bit and felt him hold her tighter.

"You awake?" he whispered softly.

"Yes" she replied in the same way.

"There is something that I need to tell you."

She turned so she would be facing him and her gaze stopped upon his worried black eyes.

"What is it?"

"I cannot be too subtle, and for that I am sorry" he said quietly. "I love you… you know that. But I am also in love with Monica."

There was a short pause. Amala said nothing. Was this it? Was he dumping her? She couldn't blame him. Mona was much more experienced and open and well… she was a wonderful person.

"She is also in love with me… it's a flame that never died."

So this _was_ it. Well, this night had been great and…

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked into those black eyes, at the vulture-like face that reminded her of a warrior who'd had it bad in his life, at the hair that was falling on his face. Would he never hold her again like that? Never kiss her?… she felt as if something was taken away from her. Truly speaking, something was taken away.

"I understand" she whispered, feeling her voice become hoarse.

"You do?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course. Listen, I won't be in the way of your happiness. And neither in the way of Mona's happiness. I care about you two too much."

Severus's eyes grew large for a few seconds, and he looked puzzled.

"I never thought you'd accept things so easily."

Tears started falling from her eyes and she masked them by getting up and pulling on some clothes. She didn't want him to see her crying. He was… the most wonderful thing that had happened to her… Too good to be true. Too wonderful.

"I do accept, Severus. It's not easy, but I manage."

"Thank you" he whispered. "You are a wonderful woman, Amala."

There was a lump in her throat as she heard his happiness. Of course he'd be happy… and that was what mattered, right? She wiped her face with her hands, removing the salty tears.

"I… I… Love you, Severus and… I want you to be happy, ok?"

He got up from bed and hugged her from behind, not seeing her face.

"You're a truly wonderful woman."

As he kissed her neck gently, she pulled away and turned towards him, sniffing.

"You don't have to do that, ok? If you love her, you don't have to pretend to care for me, I know it's over."

"What?" he asked, petrified. "But… But I do love you!"

She snorted.

"Don't lie to me, please, ok? Go, be happy and don't worry about me. You didn't have to make love to me tonight if you didn't want to."

"What!"

"Really, I'll just disappear now, and I won't trouble you, sincerely. Please, be happy, ok? And don't forget me. That's all I ask of you, Severus. And I'll go back to my parents' then, although it was sweet of you to offer me to live with you and I won't forget that. Thank you for loving me and… well…"

"Amy, no, that's not quite what I meant when I said…"

"No, stop. Don't say anything" she asked and left out the door in his living room and then going out on the corridor, feeling that in less than a minute she'd start crying.

"Amy, stop!" he cried behind her, but she just couldn't do it. "Don't make me run naked around the castle after you!"

She started running, incapable of facing him.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Well, Monica, it seems we've struck a deal" Strois said, grinning at the beautiful woman in front of him.

"Hell, I know how boring History classes are, I mean, I've taken a few in my days. Sure, I'll hold them for awhile, but I'm not really the type of woman who stays long in a place, so I don't know for how long."

"It's ok" he answered and winked. "Thanks for the most wonderful and fructuous meeting."

In an impulse, he leaned over, hugged her and kissed her on the lips, making her laugh.

"Do you mean to be giving me any very subtle clues as to your feelings of never dying love for me?" she asked with a wink.

"No" he snorted. "Take care of that boyfriend of yours and your niece, because there's been a terrible misunderstanding and they're both suffering like idiots now. You see, he just told her he loves you and she understood that she was being dumped and fled before he could explain the situation. If I were you, I'd tell him to take it easy and not worry. Amala will have another boyfriend in a short time."

Monica laughed, petting him gently on the arms that he was still holding around her.

"That's a great consolation, indeed."

"Well…" he replied, stepping away from her. "In a way, it is. Trust the word of an old guy who tends to know more things than people would like him to. I frankly don't mean to intrude, but what can I do? Knowing things is in my nature."

"It's ok, as long as you're not sharing your insights. Especially my sister might not be fond of what I enjoy doing with men."

"Definitely not!" he agreed.

The door opened –well, rather smashed against the wall, but forget that tiny detail- and Severus came through, wearing a rather worried expression –desperate would be the word-.

"Monica, I… Am I interrupting something?"

"Barely my farewells, as I'm off to the kitchen" answered Jack. "Take it easy, Severus. Sit down. No matter what the problem is, it will be solved until New Years Eve, mark my words."

"I'm not so sure…" Severus answered as the other man patted him on the shoulder and left. "He's an odd character."

"You don't know half of it" Monica answered. "I've been studying texts about him for a long time now and I'm very pleased I finally got to meet him. What happened? You look disheveled."

"I told Amala that I loved you and things didn't come out too well. She is under the impression that I was dumping her and everything went completely downhill."

"Ouch" Monica replied, hugging him closely. "Don't worry, it'll be ok. Find her, tell her what you meant and then give her a bit of time for herself to sort things out. It'll be just fine."

She kissed him briefly and he frowned.

"You smell like Strois."

Monica laughed merrily.

"He asked me to take the History of Magic class and teach it, so I did. He was a bit overexcited and hugged and kissed me, not that I'd be complaining. I don't mind, as you well know. Now, sit down, relax. Let me bring you something to drink and we'll send a house elf to scout for my niece. She's rather resourceful when it comes to hiding as I found out when my sister pissed her off and she ended up hiding under my bed for a night."

Severus looked amused for a second. He sat down on Monica's couch and sighed deeply.

"Talking of which, where are your sister and her husband? I haven't sent them in quite awhile."

"Want me to call for them, Sev?" Monica asked as she stepped into her bedroom to fetch something to drink.

"Good heavens, no! But I was curious."

She came out holding two mugs and a coffee pot. She put them on the table and filled both mugs. Severus looked in surprise at the brownish liquid.

"Warm chocolate?"

"My resources told me it's wealthier than coffee _and_ an aphrodisiac. Imagine that…" she winked. "Plus, I happen to like warm chocolate a lot. Relax, Sev. We'll take care of things."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Amala was on Hermione's favorite spot, crying. She hadn't found the other girl in the dorm and so now she was at the other place she was most likely to appear: her seat in the library. She wanted everything to be back the way it was before her parents had come… where were they anyway? Oh, never mind, she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to be back with Sev, and yet she knew she'd never be.

After all, Mona was now a Professor here, was she not? And if her and Sev had been very close while they'd been separated, imagine how they'd be now… Inseparable. Amala never stood a chance. She had nothing to offer, nothing to give…

She heard feet on the stone floor and she lifted her head, wishing it were Hermione. It wasn't. It was a blonde boy with blue eyes who was looking at her in a surprised fashion.

"Hey, what's up?" he said in a concerned way.

"I feel like an idiot" she said hoarsely.

"Aw, don't say that." He made a few steps towards her before grinning. "Not to a Ravenclaw, at least. We don't like people who aren't as smart as us, see, and you look to me as a very smart one, so don't ruin the impression."

Amala smiled, taking it for what it was meant to be: a complicated compliment.

"Can I sit?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Hey, you're Snape's girlfriend, right?" he asked and she felt tears welling up in her eyes and a lump rising in her throat. It was a surprised she managed to even croak "Not any more" before she started crying again. She was acting like an idiot and she knew it, but it was so painful she didn't care.

"What happened?"

Amala considered telling him for a second and then decided she couldn't care less about consequences.

"He fell in love with my aunt."

"The bastard" the boy said, looking darkly toward the other side of the library, careful so nobody heard him. Especially not Snape. Luckily, only Madam Pince was walking around and she didn't seem to notice them.

"Don't say that!" Amala nearly cried and madam Pince shot her an evil look, making the girl hush down. "My fault really: I've nothing to offer, you see? I'm just a kid and well…"

"Did he say that?"

"No, but it's how I am" Amala answered.

"No, it's not" the boy said. "Oh, my name's Alexander, by the way."

"Amala."

"So I've heard."

Alexander put an arm around her, feeling murderous. Snape could do whatever he wanted in class, but he wasn't allowed to play with this girl's minds and make her feel like nothing. He'd see to that. He'd protect her from the Potion Master, even if he had to stand against the Professor. She was a beautiful girl, he'd seen her more than once, and she was bright and charming and didn't deserve to have her life ruined by a ghoul of a man.

He'd see that that wouldn't happen.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jane looked Akanai in the eyes.

"You know what I say? I say let's make a small group and enter through those hollow walls Sybille told us about. We'll hit them from inside and then hit them with an army from outside."

"As good a plan as any" Akanai agreed. "What do you think, Theodore, Sybille?"

"I'm ok with it" replied the viceroy. "They might not even get a chance to release the foul Darkelings."

"It's Sigh-Bill, you idiot, so stop calling me See-you-bill-ah!" the dark woman shouted and all eyes turned towards her as she bickered with another one of Jane's council, a duchess who was particularly stiff and annoying.

"Ahem, Sybille, this is a war council held in the queen's own council room so please, show us some of your infamous noble manners" Akanai said, amused.

"My friend" Sania whispered in his ear, but loud enough for everybody to hear. "These _are_ her infamous noble manners."

Sybille gave a loud "hmph", then said, "She's right, you know. Anyway, I agree with the plan. Let's hit them now, hit them hard and get rid of all this stupid business. I'm growing tired of it and I bet so is Potter."

"Imagine what Dumbly-door must feel" Sania snorted and everybody stared at her. "What! I heard Olympe Maxime calls him Dumbly-door!"

"That's because she's French… and she calls him Dumbly-dorr" Jane said and winked. "Okay, then, so that's the plan. Let's get it over with."

"Aye!" the men cried.

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AN: I know, it's been very long! Sorry for that… I know you'll forgive me, though. ;) I'm not in the mood to write anymore right now and I've got some stuff to do so I'd like to add only that I want to thank my wonderful reviewers a million, gazillion times! Many, many thanks to: Tsuetsu, Amarine Nightshade, GamingGuy84 (well, yes, Snape wasn't too nice in HBP… ok, more like a complete bastard and annoying person and I wanted to strangle somebody by the end of the book, but still), Phtm Fann.


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